I sometimes swear oaths and owe an expiation, and every year in Ramadan I give charity to the fasting people from food and other things. Is this considered sufficient?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. This is a questioner who sent this question to the program. He says: I sometimes swear oaths and owe an expiation, and every year in Ramadan I give charity to the fasting people from food and other things. Is this considered sufficient?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for a person, if he breaks his oath, to hasten with the expiation, and it is not permissible to delay it, because he does not know what may befall him. He may be able to perform the expiation today and unable tomorrow, or he may die. So it is obligatory to hasten with the expiation without delay. One should not say, "I will delay it until Ramadan because charity in Ramadan is better." We say, and praise be to Allah, Ramadan has its own charity, and the expiation is due at its time.
And on this occasion, I say: A person should not swear oaths frequently. In fact, some of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: They said: Do not swear oaths frequently.
Then, if a person swears and it is necessary, let him say: "If Allah wills." Because by saying "If Allah wills," he benefits from two great benefits:
The first benefit is that if he says "If Allah wills," Allah will fulfill for him what he swore to.
And the second is that if he says "If Allah wills" and does not do it, there is no expiation on him.
And the evidence for this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) related to us about what happened to Sulayman, Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him), one of the noble prophets. He loved jihad in the path of Allah. One day he swore, saying, "By Allah, I will go around to ninety women tonight, and each one of them will give birth to a boy who will fight in the path of Allah." It was said to him: Say "If Allah wills." But he did not say "If Allah wills"—based on the determination he had—so he went around to ninety women, gathering them in that night. One of them gave birth to a half-person (a half-human), so nothing of what he swore to was realized. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3856Sahih (Darussalam).
As for the second benefit, which is that if he breaks his oath, there is no expiation on him, the evidence for this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Bulugh al-Maram 1378.
So if the oath-taker's saying "If Allah wills" brings him these two benefits, let him always adhere to it: "If Allah wills."
If he says: I am afraid that if I say "If Allah wills," my companion whom I swore to will become lax about the matter?
We say: If you fear this, mention it secretly between you and yourself, meaning, say it in a way that he does not hear you. And in that case, he heard an oath without an exception, while you swore an oath with an exception.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for a person, if he breaks his oath, to hasten with the expiation, and it is not permissible to delay it, because he does not know what may befall him. He may be able to perform the expiation today and unable tomorrow, or he may die. So it is obligatory to hasten with the expiation without delay. One should not say, "I will delay it until Ramadan because charity in Ramadan is better." We say, and praise be to Allah, Ramadan has its own charity, and the expiation is due at its time.
And on this occasion, I say: A person should not swear oaths frequently. In fact, some of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And keep your oaths
واحفظوا أيمانكمThen, if a person swears and it is necessary, let him say: "If Allah wills." Because by saying "If Allah wills," he benefits from two great benefits:
The first benefit is that if he says "If Allah wills," Allah will fulfill for him what he swore to.
And the second is that if he says "If Allah wills" and does not do it, there is no expiation on him.
And the evidence for this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) related to us about what happened to Sulayman, Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him), one of the noble prophets. He loved jihad in the path of Allah. One day he swore, saying, "By Allah, I will go around to ninety women tonight, and each one of them will give birth to a boy who will fight in the path of Allah." It was said to him: Say "If Allah wills." But he did not say "If Allah wills"—based on the determination he had—so he went around to ninety women, gathering them in that night. One of them gave birth to a half-person (a half-human), so nothing of what he swore to was realized. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If he had said: 'If Allah wills,' he would not have broken his vow, and this would have been a means to help him to get what he wanted.
لو قال إن شاء الله لم يحنث وكان دركاً لحاجتهAs for the second benefit, which is that if he breaks his oath, there is no expiation on him, the evidence for this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever swears an oath, and then says: "If Allah Wills", he is not held accountable if he breaks it.
من حلف على شيء فقال : إن شاء الله ، فلا حنث عليهSo if the oath-taker's saying "If Allah wills" brings him these two benefits, let him always adhere to it: "If Allah wills."
If he says: I am afraid that if I say "If Allah wills," my companion whom I swore to will become lax about the matter?
We say: If you fear this, mention it secretly between you and yourself, meaning, say it in a way that he does not hear you. And in that case, he heard an oath without an exception, while you swore an oath with an exception.