Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (15/184)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

because prayer in the legal sense is worshipping Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, through prescribed words and actions. Therefore, we say to this man: You have not broken your oath, because an unqualified term is construed according to its legal meaning.

Likewise, if he says, “By Allah, I shall not sell anything,” and then leases his car to someone, he has not broken his oath, because leasing is not legally considered a sale. Or if he sells tobacco, he has not broken his oath, because this is not a legally valid sale; rather, it is a defective and invalid sale. Or if he sells wine, he has not broken his oath. Or if he sells a fetus in its mother’s womb, he has not broken his oath, because although this may be called a sale in the linguistic sense, it is not called a sale in the legal sense; therefore, he has not broken his oath.

“But if he qualifies his oath with that which prevents validity—such as swearing that he will not sell wine or a free person—then he breaks his oath by the mere form of the contract, ………”

His statement, “But if he qualifies his oath with that which prevents validity—such as swearing that he will not sell wine or a free person—then he breaks his oath by the mere form of the contract,” means that if he swears not to do something and qualifies it with wording that indicates invalidity, then he breaks his oath even though the transaction itself is invalid. For example, if he says, “By Allah, I shall not sell wine,” then sells it, this is not a sale from the legal perspective, because it is invalid. However, he did not state it unqualifiedly; rather, he qualified it with something by which validity is negated, when he said, “By Allah, I shall not sell wine.” Thus, if he sells it, he breaks his oath.

If someone were to ask: How can you deem him to have broken his oath when this transaction is not a legally valid sale?

We answer: He qualified it with a specific matter, so as soon as that specific matter occurs, he breaks his oath. This is why the author said, “by the mere form of the contract,” because this is merely a formal contract, and the author qualified his oath with something formal. Thus, the words, “I shall not sell wine”

لأن الصلاة في الشرع التعبد لله ﷿ بالأقوال والأفعال المعلومة، وعلى هذا فنقول لهذا الرجل: أنت لم تحنث؛ لأن الشيء المطلق يحمل على الشرع. كذلك ـ أيضاً ـ قال: والله لا أبيع شيئاً فأجَّر إنساناً سيارتَه؛ فإنه لا يحنث؛ لأن الأجرة ليست ببيع شرعاً، أو باع دخاناً فإنه لا يحنث؛ لأن هذا ليس بيعاً شرعيّاً، بل هو بيع فاسد باطل، أو باع خمراً، فإنه لا يحنث، أو باع حملاً في بطن فإنه لا يحنث، لأن هذا وإن سمي بيعاً في اللغة، لكنه في الشرع لا يسمى بيعاً فلا يحنث. وَإِنْ قَيَّدَ يَمِينَهُ بِمَا يَمْنَعُ الصِّحَّةَ، كَأَنْ حَلَفَ لَا يَبِيعُ الْخَمْرَ أَوِ الْحُرَّ حَنِثَ بِصُورَةِ الْعَقْدِ، .......... قوله: «وإن قيد يمينه بما يمنع الصحة، كأن حلف لا يبيع الخمر أو الحر حنث بصورة العقد» يعني إذا حلف أن لا يفعل شيئاً، وقيده بلفظ يدل على الفساد، فإنه يحنث وإن كان فاسداً، مثل أن يقول: والله لا أبيع الخمر، ثم باع، فهذا من الناحية الشرعية ليس ببيع؛ لأنه فاسد، لكن الرجل لم يأت به مطلقاً، بل قيده بأمر تنتفي معه الصحة، حيث قال: والله لا أبيع الخمر، فإذا باعه حنث. فإن قال قائل: كيف تحنثونه وهذا التصرف ليس ببيع شرعي؟! قلنا: إنه قيده بأمر معين، فبمجرد وجود ذلك الأمر المعين يحنث، ولهذا قال المؤلف: «حنث بصورة العقد»؛ لأن هذا عقد صوري، والمؤلف قيد يمينه بأمر صوري، فكلمة «لا أبيع الخمر»