The ruling on one who swore by the forbidden (haram) upon himself not to do something, then did it
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The following message was received from the listener Bilal Idris, a Sudanese resident in the Kingdom. He says in his message: I have dear friends, and the friendship between us has lasted for several years. I used to visit them at their home every morning. Please note that I have no family ties with them, only friendship, and I visit them frequently, of course, with no improper intention. One day, I faced a problem with two people connected to my friends, meaning the family I used to visit. They said to me: Why do you keep visiting our family? You have an improper intention. My face turned pale and my thoughts became scattered. Please note that I am married, and when I arrived home, my wife asked me why my face had turned pale and why I was not normal today. I explained the situation to her and swore before her that I would never visit my friends at their home again. Please note that I work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and I received three letters from these friends. However, my problem is that I swore by the forbidden (haram), meaning I declared it haram upon myself not to visit these people at their home. What is the opinion of the religion in this matter? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: As long as the matter is as you described, and that you visit them for the sake of Allah and out of love for the sake of Allah, and there are no forbidden reasons, but rather it is a visit of love and a pure visit with no religious prohibition, then there is no blame on you for visiting them. You must pay the expiation for an oath for the declaration of prohibition if you said, “It is haram upon me not to visit them,” if you intended to prevent yourself from visiting them. You must pay the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people, with each poor person receiving half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the local staple food, such as dates, rice, or other, or clothing them with a garment, such as a shirt or an izar (lower garment) and rida' (upper garment). This is sufficient, provided that your intention was to prevent yourself from visiting them.
However, if the intention was to declare your wife haram (forbidden) to you, meaning that she is haram to you if you visit them, and you intended this, then you must free a male or female slave. If you cannot do so, you must fast for two consecutive months. If you cannot do that, you must feed sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), with each sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) divided between two people, so each person receives half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), before you touch her. This is if your intention was to declare her haram (forbidden). But if the intention was only to prevent yourself from visiting them, and you made it difficult for yourself to refrain from visiting them without intending to declare your wife haram (forbidden), then the expiation for an oath is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
Answer: As long as the matter is as you described, and that you visit them for the sake of Allah and out of love for the sake of Allah, and there are no forbidden reasons, but rather it is a visit of love and a pure visit with no religious prohibition, then there is no blame on you for visiting them. You must pay the expiation for an oath for the declaration of prohibition if you said, “It is haram upon me not to visit them,” if you intended to prevent yourself from visiting them. You must pay the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people, with each poor person receiving half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the local staple food, such as dates, rice, or other, or clothing them with a garment, such as a shirt or an izar (lower garment) and rida' (upper garment). This is sufficient, provided that your intention was to prevent yourself from visiting them.
However, if the intention was to declare your wife haram (forbidden) to you, meaning that she is haram to you if you visit them, and you intended this, then you must free a male or female slave. If you cannot do so, you must fast for two consecutive months. If you cannot do that, you must feed sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), with each sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) divided between two people, so each person receives half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), before you touch her. This is if your intention was to declare her haram (forbidden). But if the intention was only to prevent yourself from visiting them, and you made it difficult for yourself to refrain from visiting them without intending to declare your wife haram (forbidden), then the expiation for an oath is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.