Swearing by what is forbidden entails the expiation for an oath
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
This is a letter from Hussein Muhammad al-Zubayr, a Sudanese national working in Kuwait. He says in his letter: I swore by what is forbidden that I would not stay in this country for more than one year and would return, but I have exceeded the year and have not returned, nor have I fulfilled my oath. What should I do? I want to travel now, and since I am married, I fear that this oath will affect me. Please advise us; may Allah reward you.
Answer: If the intention behind this oath was to urge yourself to leave and not exceed the year, and you did not intend to make your wife forbidden to you, but rather you intended to urge yourself to leave the country and travel before the year was up, then you owe the expiation for an oath. If you exceeded the year, you owe the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people or clothing them, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) : [Al-Tahrim:1-2].
The point is: you owe the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people from the staple food of the country, half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for each poor person, meaning approximately one and a half kilograms of the staple food of the country, such as rice, dates, wheat, or the like. You must also repent and seek forgiveness, because making something forbidden is not permissible.
However, if you intended to make your wife forbidden to you, then you owe the expiation for zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative), which is freeing a believing slave. If that is not feasible, you must fast for two consecutive months. If you are unable to do that, you must feed sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of dates, wheat, rice, or barley, half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for each poor person, meaning approximately one and a half kilograms for each person from the staple food of the country, such as dates or the like, or rice or wheat or the like, before you touch her, before you approach her; because this is ruled as zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative) if you intended to make your wife forbidden to you when you exceeded the year. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Answer: If the intention behind this oath was to urge yourself to leave and not exceed the year, and you did not intend to make your wife forbidden to you, but rather you intended to urge yourself to leave the country and travel before the year was up, then you owe the expiation for an oath. If you exceeded the year, you owe the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people or clothing them, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) :
(1) O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the approval of your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (2) Allah has already ordained for you [Muslims] the dissolution of your oaths
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ تَبْتَغِي مَرْضَاةَ أَزْوَاجِكَ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ قَدْ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ تَحِلَّةَ أَيْمَانِكُمْThe point is: you owe the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people from the staple food of the country, half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for each poor person, meaning approximately one and a half kilograms of the staple food of the country, such as rice, dates, wheat, or the like. You must also repent and seek forgiveness, because making something forbidden is not permissible.
However, if you intended to make your wife forbidden to you, then you owe the expiation for zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative), which is freeing a believing slave. If that is not feasible, you must fast for two consecutive months. If you are unable to do that, you must feed sixty poor people, thirty sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of dates, wheat, rice, or barley, half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for each poor person, meaning approximately one and a half kilograms for each person from the staple food of the country, such as dates or the like, or rice or wheat or the like, before you touch her, before you approach her; because this is ruled as zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative) if you intended to make your wife forbidden to you when you exceeded the year. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.