Some Ahadeeth Pertaining to taking Oaths, Vows and Expiations
Taken from
Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah
By the
Muhaddith, Shaykh, Allamaa’
Muhammad Nasir uddeen al-Albaani
Translated by
Abbas Abu Yahya
1 – 1175 – From Hudayfah that the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said:
‘Do not say: whatever Allaah wills and whatever so and so wills, but you should say: whatever Allaah wills then whatever so and so wills.’
No. 137
2- 1176 – From Sahl bin Haneef that the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam–narrated to him, where he said: the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said to me:
‘You are my messenger to Makkah; so convey my Salam to them, and tell them: that the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– orders you with three things:
‘Do not swear by your fathers –[and in another narration: with other than Allaah]– and if you relieve yourselves then do not face the Qiblah nor face your back to it, and do not clean yourselves using bones, nor with dung.’
No. 3953
3 – 1178 – From Abdullaah bin Buraidah from his father who said the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said:
‘Whoever swears by a trust then he is not from us, and whoever causes a wife to hate her husband or a slave to hate his master then he is not from us.’
No. 325
4 – 1180 – From Abu Umamah bin Thalabah who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– saying:
‘Whoever acquires wealth of a Muslim by swearing a false oath; then it will be a black speck on his heart, and nothing will change it until the Day of Judgement.’
No. 3364
5 – 1183 – From Abdullaah bin ‘Amr bin al-Aaas: that the wife of Abu Dharr came on (al-Qaswa, the camel) the ride of the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam–, until the camel knelt down at the Masjid, and she said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah! I took an oath that if Allaah saved me/delivered me upon this, then I would eat from its liver and its hump!
The Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said:
‘What a wretched reward you have given it, this is not an oath, indeed an oath is what is done desiring the Face of Allaah.’
The Messenger –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said this about the wife of Abu Dharr who had taken an oath, that if she was saved from the kuffar upon the ride of the Messenger –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– then she would slaughter it.’
No.3309
6 – 1184 – From Thabit bin ad-Dhihaak who said: a man at the time of the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– took an oath that he would slaughter an animal at Boowana (a certain place), when the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– came he said: I have taken an oath that I would slaughter at Boowana, so the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said to him:
‘Was there an idol from the idols of Jahileeyah worshipped there?’
He answered: ‘No.’
The Messenger asked: ‘Was there an Eid (a day of celebration) from the days of celebration at that place?’
He answered: ‘No.’
So the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– said:
‘Fulfil your oath, indeed an oath is not fulfilled in sinning against Allaah, nor in breaking relations, nor in that which the son of Adam does not possess.’
No. 2872
7 – 1185 – From Ibn Abbas –Radi Allaahu anhu– from the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– who said:
‘There are two types of vows, firstly, that which was for Allaah, so its expiation is fulfilling it. Secondly that which was for Shaytaan then there is no fulfilment of that but the expiation is the penalty of the unfulfilled vow.’
No. 479
8 – 1186 – From Abu Hurairah from the Prophet –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– who said:
‘Allaah -Azza wa Jal- said: Making a vow does not earn anything for the son of Adam except that which I have destined for him. Rather, making a vow is something which makes a miserly person give. He comes to Me with that which he would not offer due to his miserliness.’
No. 478
9 – 1187 – From Uqbah bin ‘Aamir al-Jahnee who said: my sister made an oath that she would walk to the Ka’aba barefooted, and with her head uncovered, when the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– saw her he asked:
‘What is wrong with her?’
They answered that she took an oath that she would walk to the Ka’aba barefooted, and with her head uncovered.
The Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
‘Order her to get a ride, and cover herself, perform the Hajj and slaughter a sacrificial animal.’
No. 2930
10 – From Ibn Abbas: that a man came to the Messenger of Allaah –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam– and said: last night I saw in a dream, shaded clouds trickling with clarified butter and honey, and I saw people taking handfuls from it, there were those who were taking a lot and there were those who were taking a little and there was a rope connected from the earth to the sky. I saw you take it and ascend with it, then another man took it and ascended with it, then another man took it and ascended with it, then a man took it and it was cut off, then connected.
Abu Bakr said O Messenger of Allaah! May my father be sacrificed for you, I swear by Allaah if you allow me I will interpret it for you.
The Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said to him: ‘Go ahead interpret it.’
He said: ‘As for the shaded clouds then that is Islaam, as for the trickling of clarified butter and honey, then that is the Qur’aan and its sweetness trickles for the one who reads a lot of Qur’aan and for the one who reads a little of the Qur’aan.
As for the connected rope from the sky to the earth, then that is the truth which you are upon so you take it then Allaah caused you to ascend, then another man held on and ascended, then another man took it and ascended, then another man took it then it cuts off, then it connects and ascended with it, so tell me O Messenger of Allaah – may my father be sacrificed for you – was I right or wrong?’
The Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘You were right in some of it and wrong in some.’
Then Abu Bakr said: ‘I swear by Allaah that you will narrate to me of that which I made a mistake in.’
The Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘Do not take an oath.’
No.121