Section

When no customary usage exists, recourse is made to the literal wording. Thus, whoever1 swears, “I will not eat meat,” breaks his oath by consuming any meat, even meat that is unlawful in itself—such as carrion or pork—but not by eating things that are not classed as meat, like fat and the like. Or he swears, “I will not consume milk,” and then does so2—even human milk—and he has broken his oath; or says, “I will not eat a head or eggs,” and then eats any head or any eggs, even the head of a locust or its eggs, he is perjured; or says, “I will not eat fruit,” he likewise breaks his oath by eating anything customarily enjoyed as fruit, even if it is cooked, with the exception of snake melon, cucumber, olives, and red hawthorn3.

If he swears, “I will not take lunch,” and then eats after the sun has passed its zenith, or4 “I will not take supper,” and then eats after midnight, or5 “I will not take suḥūr (the pre-dawn meal),” and eats before that time, he has not broken his oath.

If he swears, “I will not eat from this tree,” he breaks his oath only by eating its fruit; and if he swears, “I will not eat from this cow,”6 he breaks it by eating any part of its flesh, but not by drinking its milk or eating its calf.