or the like, he has not broken his oath.” If he says, “By Allah, I will never eat meat,” and they bring him a camel’s hump, which he eats until he is full, he has not broken his oath, because in Arabic this is not called meat, but fat. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“And upon those who became Jews We prohibited every animal with undivided hoof; and of cattle and sheep We prohibited to them their fats.” [al-An'am 6:146]

This indicates that fats are other than meats; rather, they are a part of the animal. Likewise, if he says, “By Allah, I will not eat meat,” then eats marrow, he has not broken his oath, because marrow is not called meat. Similarly, if he eats liver, he has not broken his oath, because liver is not meat in the Arabic language.

His statement, “or the like,” includes such things as kidneys, tripe, intestines, spleen, and the like. These are not called meat, so he does not break his oath, giving precedence to the literal linguistic meaning.

However, if it is known that his purpose was to avoid fatty foods—that is, that this was his intention—then eating these things causes him to break his oath, because intention takes precedence.

An example of this is a sick man whose doctor says to him, “Do not eat meat,” so that he may avoid fatty foods. If he then eats fat, it would be more harmful to him than meat, as would marrow or similar things. Thus, if it is known that what was intended was avoidance of fatty foods, he breaks his oath by eating these things.

His statement, “If he swears not to eat a condiment, he breaks his oath by eating eggs, dates, salt, vinegar, or olives”: He says, “By Allah, I will not eat condiments”—meaning foods eaten with bread as an accompaniment. He breaks his oath by eating these things. Thus, if he says, “By Allah, I will not eat”