By Asma bint Shameem
Oath is of different kinds
1.One kind of oath is when a person has FIRM RESOLVE to do something in the future. So he swears to do that.
Such oaths must be fulfilled.
But if he doesn’t do it, then expiation is required for not fulfilling the oath.
Ibn Qudaamah said:
“Whoever swears to do something and he does not do it, or he swears not to do something and he does it, must offer expiation.”
(Al-Mughni, 9/390)
2. The other kind of oath is when a person doesn’t really mean an oath. Rather, he’s just saying it without really ‘resolving’ to do it; like “Wallaahi I will do this in two minutes”.
Or some people have a habit of just saying “Wallaahi” for everything, small or big.
And in some cultures, such speech is common.
Swearing on Allaah of this kind or taking oaths unnecessarily is not really approved of in our Deen.
Ibn Qudaamah said:
“It is not right to be heedless in swearing by Allaah (i.e., to do so a great deal), because Allaah says:
“And (O Muhammad Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam)
obey you not everyone Hallaaf Maheen (the one who swears much and is a liar or is worthless)”
[al-Qalam 68:14].This is a criticism of it which implies that it is not right to do it.” (al-Mughni (9/386)
Although it’s not really a good habit to say that, such oaths don’t require an expiation.
If someone just has a bad habit and he doesn’t really mean to swear ‘Wallaahi’ and has no firm resolve to do that thing he’s swearing about; If that’s the case, and Allaah knows best, then no expiation is required from them.
As for making conditional vows,
It’s not right to make conditions like that with Allaah and say I will recite this ‘X’ amount of times or do that ‘Y’ number of times if such and such happens.
This is called a vow and it’s
when a person makes a vow to do an act of worship in exchange for something that they want to occur. Or if they’re saved from a certain problem.
For example:
If someone says they’ll read 100 rak’aat if they get a certain job.
Or they’ll fast 3 days or give $100/- in charity if their child gets better etc
Some ulama even consider this kind of vows forbidden while others consider it makrooh.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
‘Do not make vows, for vows do not change qadar (the divine decree) in the slightest, but they make the stingy person give something up.’” (Muslim).
However once a person has made a vow that does not include shirk or anything that’s against the Sharee’ah, then they have to fulfill that vow.
If they vow to do something that’s against the teachings of the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam or the Sharee’ah then they should NOT fulfill the oath.
The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
“Whoever vows to do some act of worship and obedience to Allaah, then let him do it, and whoever vows to do some sin, let him not do it.” (al-Bukhaari)
Ibn Taymiyah said:
“If a man intends to vow to do some act of worship and obedience to Allaah, then he must fulfil it. If he does not fulfil his vow to Allaah, then he must offer kafaarat yameen, according to the majority of the early generations of Islam.”
(al-Fataawa (33/49)
What if they’ve forgotten what they vowed about or how many vows etc then in that situation here’s what the Ulama say:
“If the oath was sworn repeatedly concerning a single matter, then you have to offer one expiation; if the oaths had to do with a variety of matters, then you have to offer the same number of expiations as the things concerning which the oaths were sworn.
If you do not know for certain how many oaths were sworn, then try to figure out the number, and offer expiation until you think that you have most likely done what is required of you.
The expiation for breaking an oath (kafaarat yameen) is:
feeding ten poor persons with the average food that you give your own family, or clothing them, or freeing a slave.
You can choose any of these three options.
If you are unable to do any of these three things, then you should fast three days for each oath in question.
The Standing Committee was asked the following question:
“In the past I used to swear oaths stating that I would do such and such, then I did not do it. I want to offer expiation for that. Is it sufficient to offer one expiation? Please note that I swore such oaths several times but I do not remember how many they were.”
They said:
“Try to figure out the number of oaths that you have broken, then offer expiation based on that approximate number, if the oaths had to do with different matters. If they all had to do with the same matter, such as saying, By Allaah I will not visit Zayd, by Allaah I will not visit Zayd,” then offer one expiation.”
(Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/481)
Shaykh Ibn Baaz said:
“This applies to every vow to do one thing, or not to do one thing; even if it was repeated, only one expiation is due, provided that he did not offer expiation the first time and then repeat the mistake.
But if he swore several vows to do different things or not to do different things, then he must offer expiation for each vow.
For example, if he said: “By Allaah I will not speak to So and so; by Allaah I will not eat his food; by Allaah I will not travel to such and such a place,” or he said, “By Allaah I will certainly speak to So and so; by Allaah I will certainly hit him,” and so on.
What is required when feeding the poor in this case is to give each poor person half a saa’ of the local staple food, which is approximately one and a half kilograms.
With regard to clothing, it means giving him what is needed for prayer, such as a shirt, or an izaar (lower garment, waist wrapper) and rida’ (upper garment, cloak). If he offers them dinner or lunch, that is good enough, because of the general meaning of the verse.”
(Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/480)
And Allaah Knows Best
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