The Book of Oaths and Vows

It was narrated from Amr ibn Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better should offer expiation for his oath and do what is better.’

Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla reported to us; he said: al-Muʿtamir narrated to us, from his father, from al-Hasan, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘If one of you swears an oath and then sees that something else is better, let him make expiation for his oath, then consider what is better and do it.’

Ahmad ibn Sulayman reported to us; he said: ʿAffan narrated to us; he said: Jarir ibn Hazim narrated to us; he said: I heard al-Hasan say: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘When you swear an oath, make expiation for your oath, then do what is better.’

Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Qutaʿi reported to us from ʿAbd al-Aʿla, who mentioned a phrase to the effect that Saʿid narrated to us, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘When you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, make expiation for your oath and do what is better.’

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: ʿAbd al-Rahman narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, who said: I heard ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr, the client of al-Hasan ibn ʿAli, narrate from ʿAdi ibn Hatim that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better, let him do what is better and make expiation for his oath.’

Hannad ibn al-Sari reported to us, from Abu Bakr ibn ʿAyyash, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Rufayʿ, from Tamim ibn Tarafah, from ʿAdi ibn Hatim, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better, let him abandon his oath, do what is better, and make expiation for it.’

ʿAmr ibn Yazid reported to us; he said: Bahz ibn Asad narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Rufayʿ informed me; he said: I heard Tamim ibn Tarafah narrate from ʿAdi ibn Hatim, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees something better, let him do what is better and leave his oath.’

Muhammad ibn Mansur reported to us, from Sufyan, who said: Abu al-Zarʿa narrated to us, from his uncle Abu al-Ahwas, from his father, who said: I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what do you think of a cousin of mine? I go to him and ask him for help, but he gives me nothing and does not maintain ties with me. Then, when he needs me, he comes to me and asks me for help. I had sworn that I would neither give him anything nor maintain ties with him.’ He instructed me to do what is better and to make expiation for my oath.

Ziyad ibn Ayyub reported to us; he said: Hushaym narrated to us; he said: Mansur and Yunus informed us, from al-Hasan, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me: ‘When you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, do what is better and make expiation for your oath.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us; he said: Ibn ʿAwn narrated to us, from al-Hasan, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said—meaning, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘When you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, do what is better and make expiation for your oath.’

Muhammad ibn Qudamah, in his narration from Jarir, from Mansur, from al-Hasan al-Basri, reported: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me: ‘When you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, do what is better and make expiation for your oath.’

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah ibn al-Akhnas, who said: ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb informed me, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘There is no vow and no oath concerning what one does not possess, nor in disobedience to Allah, nor in severing ties of kinship.’

Ahmad ibn Saʿid informed me; he said: Hibban narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd al-Warith narrated to us; he said: Ayyub narrated to us, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and makes an exception may either carry it out or leave it, as he wishes, without being in breach of the oath.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Sulayman ibn Hayyan informed us; he said: Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, from ʿAlqamah ibn Waqqas, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘Deeds are only by intentions, and each person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, their emigration is for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrated for some worldly gain to obtain, or for a woman to marry, their emigration is for whatever they emigrated for.’

Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Zaʿfarani reported to us; he said: Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: ʿAtaʾ related that he heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr say: I heard ʿAishah relate that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to stay with Zaynab bint Jahsh and drink honey at her home. Hafsah and I agreed that whichever of us the Prophet visited first would say to him, ‘I notice the smell of maghafir on you. Have you eaten maghafir?’ He visited one of them, and she said this to him. He replied, ‘No, rather, I drank honey at Zaynab bint Jahsh’s home, but I will not do so again.’ Then the words were revealed: ‘O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?’ through the words ‘if you two turn to Allah in repentance’—that is, ʿAishah and Hafsah. And the words ‘And when the Prophet confided something to one of his wives’ refer to his saying, ‘No, rather, I drank honey.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us; he said: al-Muthanna ibn Saʿid narrated to us; he said: Talhah ibn Nafiʿ narrated to us, from Jabir, who said: I entered the Prophet’s home with him and found pieces of bread and vinegar. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Eat. What an excellent condiment vinegar is!’

ʿAbdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Malik, from Abu Waʾil, from Qays ibn Abi Gharazah, who said: We used to be called brokers. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us while we were selling and gave us a better name. He said: ‘Merchants, this sale is attended by oaths and lies, so mix your selling with charity.’

Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Yazid reported to us, from Sufyan, from ʿAbd al-Malik, ʿAsim, and Jamiʿ, from Abu Waʾil, from Qays ibn Abi Gharazah, who said: We used to sell at al-Baqiʿ, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us. We were called brokers, so he said, ‘Merchants!’ and gave us a better name. Then he said: ‘This sale is attended by oaths and lies, so mix it with charity.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from Mughirah, from Abu Waʾil, from Qays ibn Abi Gharazah, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us while we were in the marketplace and said: ‘Idle talk and lies mingle with this marketplace, so mix it with charity.’

ʿAli ibn Hujr and Muhammad ibn Qudamah both reported to us; they said: Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Abu Waʾil, from Qays ibn Abi Gharazah, who said: In Madinah, we used to buy and sell wasqs of goods. We called ourselves brokers, and people called us brokers too. One day, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came out to us and gave us a better name than the one we and the people had used. He said: ‘Merchants, oaths and lies attend your sales, so mix them with charity.’