The Ruling on Lying in an Oath Out of Necessity
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Question:
He says: I swore a false oath by Allah, but this oath was necessary. If I had not sworn falsely—Allah knows best—I would have been wronged. So what is the ruling on this oath?
Answer:
If you were compelled to do so, you owe nothing. It is called a *ghumus* oath if a person is not compelled to it. If he is compelled to it, there is no blame on him. For example, if he is asked to confess to something he is innocent of, he swears that he did not do it, believing that he did, but if he confessed, the hadd punishment would be carried out against him. In that case, there is no blame on him for swearing, and he covers up his own affair.
The point is that if a person swears an oath out of necessity, such that if he did not swear, something harmful would befall him, and there is no right of a Muslim involved in it, then there is no blame on him to ward off the harm from himself. This includes, for example, if he is told, "Swear that you did not commit unlawful sexual intercourse, or that you did not drink intoxicants, or something similar," and he swears to that so that the hadd punishment is not carried out against him; in that case, there is no blame on him. He must repent to Allah between himself and his Lord, and whoever repents, Allah accepts his repentance if he is sincere in his repentance.
As for if it involves the right of a Muslim, such as swearing that he does not owe a debt to so-and-so, or that he does not have a right belonging to so-and-so, while he is lying, this is a *ghumus* oath. He bears great sin in it, and his conscience is not cleared. He must deliver the right to its owner, even if he swore. He must repent to Allah and deliver the right to its owner, whether it is money, retaliation, or otherwise. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
He says: I swore a false oath by Allah, but this oath was necessary. If I had not sworn falsely—Allah knows best—I would have been wronged. So what is the ruling on this oath?
Answer:
If you were compelled to do so, you owe nothing. It is called a *ghumus* oath if a person is not compelled to it. If he is compelled to it, there is no blame on him. For example, if he is asked to confess to something he is innocent of, he swears that he did not do it, believing that he did, but if he confessed, the hadd punishment would be carried out against him. In that case, there is no blame on him for swearing, and he covers up his own affair.
The point is that if a person swears an oath out of necessity, such that if he did not swear, something harmful would befall him, and there is no right of a Muslim involved in it, then there is no blame on him to ward off the harm from himself. This includes, for example, if he is told, "Swear that you did not commit unlawful sexual intercourse, or that you did not drink intoxicants, or something similar," and he swears to that so that the hadd punishment is not carried out against him; in that case, there is no blame on him. He must repent to Allah between himself and his Lord, and whoever repents, Allah accepts his repentance if he is sincere in his repentance.
As for if it involves the right of a Muslim, such as swearing that he does not owe a debt to so-and-so, or that he does not have a right belonging to so-and-so, while he is lying, this is a *ghumus* oath. He bears great sin in it, and his conscience is not cleared. He must deliver the right to its owner, even if he swore. He must repent to Allah and deliver the right to its owner, whether it is money, retaliation, or otherwise. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.