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OATHS
(According to the Qur'an and Sunnah, as extracted and inferred by scholars of the Hanafi
school.)
Abridged from "Mukhtasar
al-Quduri", a matn of Hanafi fiqh
1.0 TYPES OF OATH
Oaths are of three varieties:
- An engulfing oath (ghamus).
- An enacted oath.
- A mistaken oath.
1.1 The Engulfing Oath is :
swearing to something past, deliberately lying about it. The undertaker of
this oath is sinful, but there is no expiation for it other than seeking
forgiveness [from Allah].
1.2 The Enacted Oath is :
swearing to something future, that one will perform it - or not perform it.
Then, if he breaks his oath, expiation is binding upon him.
1.3 The Mistaken Oath is :
that one swear to something past, thinking that it is as he is has said,
whereas the [reality of the] matter is contrary to it. This [type of oath], we
hope that Allah will not take its undertaker to task.
2.0 ENACTMENT OF THE OATH
- The deliberate and the coerced are equal in [the enactment of] an oath.
- Oaths are [sworn]
 | by Allah, the Exalted, or |
| by one of His names, such as Ar-Rahman or Ar-Rahim. or
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| by one of His attributes, such as the Might of Allah, His Majesty or His
Grandeur [and the like], except for one’s saying, "By Allah’s Knowledge!" for
that is not an oath. If one swore by one of the Attributes of Action, such as
the Wrath and Displeasure of Allah, he is not [considered to have] sworn. |
Whoever swears by other than Allah is not [considered to have] sworn, such as
[if he swore by] the Prophet, the Qur’an, or the Ka`bah.
- Swearing is [effected] by [use of] the swearing letters. The swearing
letters are :
| The waw, such as one’s saying, "Wallahi"
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| The ba, such as one’s saying, "Billahi"
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| The ta, such as one’s saying, "Tallahi"
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| The letters may be concealed, in which case one is [still considered to] have
sworn. |
- If one says :
| "Uqsimu" (I take an oath) ,or "Uqsimu Billahi" (I
takes an oath by Allah), or |
| "Ahlifu" (I swear), or "Ahlifu Billahi" (I
swear by Allah), |
| then he is [considered to have] sworn. And, similarly [by] his saying,
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| "Wa `Ahdillahi wa-Mithaqih" (by the Covanant of Allah
and His Pact!), or |
| "`Ala Nadhr" (Upon oath!), or "Nadhrun Lillahi"
(An oath to Allah!), or |
| "If I do such a thing then I am a Jew, or a Christian, or an
unbeliever," |
then it is [considered] an oath.
- If one says, "[If I do such-and-such then] upon me be the Wrath of Allah!"
or "I am an adulterer," or "A drinker of wine," or "A consumer of interest,"
then he has not [considered to have] sworn.
- If one swore an oath but said, "If Allah wills," joined to his oath, then
no [penalty for] breaking it is [due] upon him.
- If one swore that he will not do such-and-such, then he must refrain from
it forever. But, if one swore that he will surely do such-and-such, and then
does it once, he is freed from his oath.
3.0 EXPIATION OF A BROKEN OATH
3.1 The Form of the Expiation
- The expiation of an oath is:
| Freeing a slave. There suffices for it that which suffices in [the
expiation of zihar]. [Or] |
| If one wishes, he may clothe ten destitute people, [giving] each of them
one garment or more, the minimum of [each] being that in which salah is valid,
[or] |
| If one wishes, he may feed ten destitute people, like the feeding in the
expiation of zihar. |
- If one is not capable of any of these three things, one fasts three
consecutive days.
3.2 When the Expiation becomes Due
- If one payed the expiation before the breaking of the oath, it does not
suffice him.
- Whoever does the sworn thing under coercion or forgetfully is equal [in
the requirement for expiation to one who did it deliberately and willingly].
3.3 Cases in which Expiation Is or Is not Binding
- Whoever swore to [commit an act of] disobedience [to Allah], such as
[swearing] that he would not pray, or that he would not speak to his father, or
that he would certainly kill so-and-so, it is essential that he break his oath
and expiate it.
- If an unbeliever swore and then broke the oath in his state of unbelief,
or after his [acceptance of] Islam, then there is no [penalty of] breaking the
oath upon him.
- Whoever prohibited something upon himself which he possesses, it does not
become inherently prohibited, but he must expiate the oath if he takes it as
permissible.
- Whoever swore that he will surely ascend into the sky, or [that] he shall
surely turn this stone into gold, his oath is enacted, and he should expiate it
thereafter.
4.0 VOWS
- One who makes an unrestricted vow must fulfil it.
- If one attached his vow to a condition, and then the condition occurred,
then he must fulfil the very vow. But, it has been narrated that Abu Hanifah
revoked that [verdict] and said : If he said, "If I do such-and-such then
[obligatory] upon me is a hajj," or "fasting a year," or "giving what I own in
charity," [then] expiation suffices him for that, and that is [also] the verdict
of Muhammad.
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