1187 – ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you swear an oath and then perceive that another course is better, offer expiation for your oath and do what is better.” Agreed upon.

In another wording recorded by al-Bukhārī: “Do what is better and offer expiation for your oath.”

A narration in Abū Dāwūd states: “Offer expiation for your oath, then do what is better,” and its chain of transmission is sound (1).

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Status of the ḥadith
The version in Abū Dāwūd has an authentic isnād, as the author notes.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – When a person swears concerning a future act that he intends either to perform or to forgo, one of four situations applies:
• If he swears to perform an obligation, or to refrain from something forbidden, it is unlawful for him to break the oath; he is required to fulfill it.
• If he swears to commit something forbidden, or to neglect an obligation, he must break the oath, and fulfilling it is unlawful.

2 – If he swears to carry out a recommended act, or to avoid something disliked, then breaking the oath is discouraged, because keeping it brings the reward attached to doing the recommended act and avoiding the disliked one.

But if he swears to do something disliked, or to abandon a recommended act, this is precisely what the present ḥadith points to: it is preferable for him to break the oath, leaving the disliked act or doing