Expiation for Unfulfilled Oaths

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us; Abu Shihab narrated to us, from Ibn Awn, from Mujahid, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Kab ibn Ujrah, who said: I came to him, meaning the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: Come closer. I came closer, and he said: Are the lice troubling you? I said: Yes. He said: Then offer expiation: fasting, charity, or a sacrifice. Ibn Awn also informed me, from Ayyub, who said: The fast is three days; the sacrifice is a sheep; and the charity feeds six poor people.

Ali ibn Abdullah narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, who said: I heard it from [an unclear narrator]—in this chain, from Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: I am ruined. He asked: What is the matter? The man said: I had intercourse with my wife during Ramadan. He asked: Can you free a slave? He said: No. He asked: Can you fast for two consecutive months? He said: No. He asked: Can you feed sixty poor people? He said: No. He said: Sit down. The man sat, and the Prophet ﷺ was brought a large basket of dates—the basket was a large container. He said: Take this and give it in charity. The man said: To someone poorer than us? The Prophet ﷺ laughed until his back teeth showed, then said: Feed it to your family.

Muhammad ibn Mahbub narrated to us; Abd al-Wahid narrated to us; Mamar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: I am ruined. He asked: What happened? The man said: I had intercourse with my wife during Ramadan. He asked: Can you find a slave to free? He said: No. He asked: Can you fast for two consecutive months? He said: No. He asked: Can you feed sixty poor people? He said: No. Then a man from the Ansar came with a large basket, a container of dates, and the Prophet ﷺ said: Take this and give it in charity. The man said: To someone more needy than us, O Messenger of Allah? By the One who sent you with the truth, there is no household between the two lava fields poorer than ours. He then said: Go and feed it to your family.

Abdullah ibn Maslamah narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Humayd, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: I am ruined. He asked: What is the matter? The man said: I had intercourse with my wife during Ramadan. He asked: Can you find the means to free a slave? He said: No. He asked: Can you fast for two consecutive months? He said: No. He asked: Can you feed sixty poor people? He said: I cannot afford it. Then a basket of dates was brought to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: Take this and give it in charity. The man said: To someone poorer than us? There is no one between its two lava fields poorer than us. He then said: Take it and feed your family.

Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; al-Qasim ibn Malik al-Muzani narrated to us; al-Juayd ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from al-Saib ibn Yazid, who said: In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, a sa was one and one-third of your current mudd measure. Its amount was increased during the time of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.

Mundhir ibn al-Walid al-Jarudi narrated to us; Abu Qutaybah, who was Salam, narrated to us; Malik narrated to us, from Nafi, who said: Ibn Umar used to give the Ramadan zakat using the first mudd measure of the Prophet ﷺ, and he used the Prophet’s mudd measure for the expiation of an oath. Abu Qutaybah said: Malik told us, Our mudd is larger than your mudd, but we regard the extra amount as relevant only in the Prophet’s mudd. Malik also said to me: If a ruler came to you and set a mudd smaller than the Prophet’s mudd, what would you give by? I said: We would give by the Prophet’s mudd. He said: Do you not see that the matter ultimately comes back to the Prophet’s mudd?

Abdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us; Malik informed us, from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talhah, from Anas ibn Malik, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: O Allah, bless their measures, their sa, and their mudd.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahim narrated to us; Dawud ibn Rashid narrated to us; al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, from Abu Ghassan Muhammad ibn Mutarrif, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ali ibn Husayn, from Said ibn Marjanah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will free from the Fire a limb of his for every limb of the slave, even his private part for the slave’s private part.

Abu al-Numan narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd informed us, from Amr, from Jabir, that a man from the Ansar had arranged for his slave to be freed upon his death, and he had no other wealth. This came to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: Who will buy him from me? Nuaim ibn al-Nahham bought him for eight hundred dirhams. I heard Jabir ibn Abdullah say that he was a Coptic slave who died in the previous year.

Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us; Shubah narrated to us, from al-Hakam, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from Aishah, who wanted to buy Barirah. The sellers stipulated that the right of wala would belong to them. She mentioned this to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: Buy her. The right of wala belongs only to the one who frees the slave.

Qutaybah ibn Said narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us, from Ghaylan ibn Jarir, from Abu Burdah ibn Abi Musa, from Abu Musa al-Ashari, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a group of Asharis to ask him for mounts. He said: By Allah, I cannot provide mounts for you; I have nothing to give you to ride. We then remained for as long as Allah willed, and camels were brought. He ordered three she-camels for us. As we set out, some of us said to one another: May Allah not bless us! We came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asking for mounts, he swore he would not provide them, and then he did. Abu Musa said: We went to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned this to him. He said: I did not provide mounts for you; rather, Allah provided them. By Allah, if Allah wills, whenever I swear an oath and then see that something else is better, I will make expiation for my oath, do what is better, and make expiation.

Abu al-Numan narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us, who said: The wording is, I will make expiation for my oath and do what is better; or, I will do what is better and make expiation.

Ali ibn Abdullah narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Hujayr, from Tawus, who heard Abu Hurayrah say: Sulayman said: Tonight I will go to ninety women, and each will bear a boy who will fight in Allah’s cause. His companion—Sufyan said he meant the angel—told him: Say, If Allah wills. But he forgot, and visited them all. None of them bore a child except one, who gave birth to half a boy. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: Had he said, If Allah wills, he would not have broken his oath, and that would have helped him achieve his wish. Another wording says: Had he made the exception. Abu al-Zinad also narrated from al-Araj a report like that of Abu Hurayrah.

Ali ibn Hujr narrated to us; Ismail ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, from Ayyub, from al-Qasim al-Tamimi, from Zahdam al-Jarmi, who said: We were with Abu Musa, and there were ties of brotherhood and goodwill between us and this clan of Jarm. Food was brought, including chicken. Among the people was a red complexioned man from Banu Taym Allah, who seemed to be a freedman. He did not come closer, so Abu Musa told him: Come closer, for I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ eat it. The man said: I saw him eat something I found repulsive, so I swore never to eat it. Abu Musa said: Come closer; I will tell you about that. We came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a group of Asharis to ask him for mounts, while he was distributing some zakat livestock. Ayyub said: I think he added that the Prophet was angry. He said: By Allah, I will not provide mounts for you; I have nothing with which to provide them. We left. Then camels from a raid were brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and someone asked: Where are those Asharis? We came, and he assigned us five excellent she-camels. We set out, and I said to my companions: We came asking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for mounts; he swore he would not provide them, then sent for us and provided them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ must have forgotten his oath. By Allah, if we let the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forget his oath, we will never prosper. Let us return and remind him. We went back and said: O Messenger of Allah, we came asking you for mounts. You swore you would not provide them, then you did, so we thought—or realized—that you had forgotten your oath. He said: Go; Allah is the One who provided mounts for you. By Allah, if Allah wills, whenever I swear an oath and see that something else is better, I will do what is better and make expiation for my oath. Hammad ibn Zayd corroborated this from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah and al-Qasim ibn Asim al-Kulaybi. Qutaybah narrated to us; Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah and al-Qasim al-Tamimi, from Zahdam, with this report. Abu Mamr narrated to us; Abd al-Warith narrated to us; Ayyub narrated to us, from al-Qasim, from Zahdam, with this report.

Muhammad ibn Abdullah narrated to me; Uthman ibn Umar ibn Faris narrated to us; Ibn Awn informed us, from al-Hasan, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Do not ask for authority. If you are given it without asking, you will be helped in it; but if you are given it after asking, you will be left to manage it yourself. If you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, do what is better and make expiation for your oath. Ashhal corroborated this from Ibn Awn. Yunus, Simak ibn Atiyyah, Simak ibn Harb, Humayd, Qatadah, Mansur, Hisham, and al-Rabi also corroborated it.