As for stipulating continuity, continuity is not as they describe it. Rather, continuity means that the end of the statement is customarily regarded as connected to its beginning. Thus, whenever the end of a statement is customarily attributed to its beginning, the exception is valid.

During the year of the Conquest, the Prophet ﷺ delivered a sermon in which he mentioned Makkah and its sacred inviolability: that its thorny shrubs were not to be cut and its herbage was not to be mown. He said other things, and then, after that, al-‘Abbas رضي الله عنه said, “Except for idhkhir, O Messenger of Allah, for it is needed for their houses and graves.” He ﷺ replied, “Except for idhkhir.” (1)

This came after words that were separate from the first statement, with a separation not necessitated by any need; and he ﷺ had not intended the exception. This proves that it is not a condition. Thus, if a man swears that you must do something, and you say to him, “Say: ‘If Allah wills,’” and he says it, then the exception benefits him according to the stronger view, though it does not benefit him according to the established madhhab.

Issue: A man takes an oath and then doubts whether he said, “If Allah wills,” or did not say it. We say: the basic presumption is that he did not say, “If Allah wills.” However, Shaykh al-Islam says: if it is his habit to make an exception, then the matter is judged according to his habit, because what is outwardly likely in this case is stronger than the basic presumption. Shaykh al-Islam cited as evidence for this issue that the Prophet ﷺ referred the woman suffering from irregular bleeding back to her customary menstrual cycle (2). He said: this proves that customary practice has legal effect, despite the fact that the woman suffering from irregular bleeding may have