Assalamu Alaykum,
Allah forgives all sins, but the brother must know it is a serious matter of making oath on Allah's name and then breaking it.
" Allaah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths, for its expiation ( a deliberate oath ) feed ten poor persons on a scale of the average of that with which you feed your own families, or clothe them, or manumit a slave. But whosoever cannot afford ( that ), then he should fast for three days ".( Al-Ma'idah 5 : 89 ).
Praise be to Allaah.
What is meant by feeding (a poor person) is half a saa’ of the staple food of the country, such as dates, wheat, etc. This is equivalent to approximately one and a half kilograms of rice.
With regard to giving the price of the food instead of the food itself, the correct view is that giving the price does not fulfil the conditions of the kafaarah (expiation). This is the view of the majority of scholars. Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni: “The kafaarah is not achieved by paying the price of the food or clothing, because Allaah mentioned giving food, so the kafaarah is not achieved by anything else. Allaah gives us the choice of three things’ if it were permissible to give the price, the choice would not have been limited to these three…” (al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, 11/256)
See Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/464; Kitaab al-Aymaan wa’l-Nudhoor, Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qaadir, 87.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam QA
Question:
I am a mother and I swore many oath to make my children do things and sometimes the oath is broken. Should I offer kafaarat yameen (expiation for breaking a oath) once or what should I do?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is makrooh to be careless in swearing aaths, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (O Muhammad) obey you not everyone Hallaaf Maheen (the one who swears much and is a liar or is worthless)”
[al-Qalam 68:10]
This indicates that the one who swears oaths a great deal is to be criticized, so try not to swear oaths too much, out of respect towards Allaah and so as to protect your oaths.
You should note that swearing oaths a great deal for everything, minor or major, leads to weakening the value of oaths and vows in people’s eyes, and there is no guarantee that this will not lead to making false oaths, and it also indicate that one does not fear Allaah completely.
With regard to the oath that you have sworn, they may be interpreted in one of two ways:
1 – When you swore the oath you meant to swear an oath, in whole or in part, i.e., you meant to swear a binding oath. In this case you have to offer kafaarat yameen. A binding oath is one which a person swears concerning something in the future, that he will do something or not do something.
2 – When you swore the oath you did not mean to swear an oath as such. This comes under the heading of idle oaths. The scholars differed as to the precise definition of idle oaths (laghw al-yameen). The most correct view is that the idle oath includes the following:
1- That which the speaker utters unintentionally, such as when a man says, “No, by Allaah, I will never go” or “Yes, by Allaah, I will go.” This is the view of the Shaafa’is and Hanbalis.
2- When a person utters an oath thinking that he is speaking the truth, then he realizes that it was not true. This is the view of the Hanbalis.
3- Shaykh al-Islam added to the definition of an idle oath cases where the one who swears the oath thinks that the one concerning whom it is sworn will not go against him, then he does go against him. By the same token a person does not break his oath if he swore that another person would do something by way of honouring him, not by way of compelling him. He said: Because it is like a command; a command is not binding if it is understood to be by way of honouring, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded Abu Bakr to stand in the row but he did not stand. See Majmoo’at al-Rasaa’il al-Fiqhiyyah by Shaykh Khaalid al-Mushayqih, p. 234.
Based on the above, if all or some of your oaths were binding, then you have to offer kafaarat yameen, but do you have to offer it once or several times? That depends on the content of the oath. If all your oaths had to do with the same thing, then you have to offer expiation only once. But if you swore oaths concerning a number of things, such as saying, “By Allaah, I will not eat today” and “By Allaah, I will not drink today” and “By Allaah, I will not travel today”, then you have to offer expiation for each of these things if you did it. If you ate and drank and travelled then you have to offer three expiations. If you swore one oath concerning a number of things, such as if you said, “By Allaah, I will not eat or drink or travel,” then you have to offer expiation once for doing one or all of these things. (op. cit., p. 266).
But if all or some of your oaths were idle oaths, then the majority of scholars have stated that no expiation is required for breaking an idle oath, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths”
[al-Baqarah 2:225]
And Allaah knows best.
Question:
Please explain kafaarat yameen (the expiation for breaking a vow) in detail.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. Kafaarat yameen is mentioned by Allaah in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths; for its expiation (a deliberate oath) feed ten Masaakeen (poor persons), on a scale of the average of that with which you feed your own families, or clothe them or manumit a slave. But whosoever cannot afford (that), then he should fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths when you have sworn. And protect your oaths (i.e. do not swear much). Thus Allaah makes clear to you His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) that you may be grateful”
[al-Maa’idah 5:89]
So the person has the choice of three things:
1 – Feeding ten poor persons with the average kind of food that he feeds his family, by giving each person half a saa’ of the usual local staple, such as rice etc. This is equivalent to approximately one-and-a-half kilograms. If rice is usually eaten with some kind of sauce then along with the rice he should give them some sauce or meat. If he gathers together ten poor people and offers them lunch or dinner, this is sufficient.
2 – Clothing ten poor people, which means giving each one clothing that is suitable for praying in, so for a man he would give a thobe or dishdasha or a lower garment and upper garment (izaar and rida’), and for a woman a concealing dress and a head cover.
3 – Freeing a believing slave.
Whoever cannot do any of the above should fast for three consecutive days.
The majority of scholars are of the view that it is not sufficient to pay the kafaarah in cash.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is not sufficient to offer the value of the food or clothing to be given in expiation, because Allaah mentions food, so expiation cannot be offered by any other means, and because Allaah has given us a choice between three things, and if it were permissible to pay the value, the choice would not be limited to these three things…
Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, 11/256
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: But the kafaarah should be offered in the form of food, not cash, because this is what it says in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. What must be offered is half a saa’ of the local staple food, whether it be dates, wheat or something else. That is equivalent to approximately one-and-a-half kilograms. If you give them lunch or dinner, or give them clothes which are suitable for praying in – namely a thobe or a lower and upper garment (izaar and rida’) – that is sufficient.
From Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/481
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
If a person cannot find a slave to free, or clothes or food to give, then he must fast three consecutive days with no break in between.
Fataawa Manaar al-Islam, 3/667
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A