his oath, whether he goes on to carry out the act in question or to abstain from it.

2 – For this ruling to apply, three conditions must be satisfied:

First: He must truly intend to make the fulfillment of what he swore upon contingent on Allah’s will and decree; if he says it merely for blessing or the words slip from his tongue unintentionally, the stipulation is invalid.

Second: The exception must be attached to the oath verbally or in practical effect, without a break except for something unavoidable such as a cough, sneeze, yawn, vomiting, and the like.

Third: The exception must be uttered aloud; it is of no benefit if it remains only in the heart.

3 – The same rule of exception that applies to oaths is also valid in cases of divorce, ẓihār, vows, and admissions. In all of these, the exception is effective provided the conditions of intention, articulation, and contiguity are met.

4 – The commentary on al-Iqnaʿ states: Repeating an oath is not recommended, and if one does so excessively it is disliked, for Allah says, “And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer” (Q 68:10), which is censure. Moreover, frequent swearing is seldom free from falsehood. From this it is understood that there is no dislike in swearing when it is not excessive, since the Prophet ﷺ swore oaths on more than one occasion.

5 – The same commentary adds: If a person is summoned before a judge to swear an oath and he is in the right, it is recommended for him to ransom his oath (i.e., to avert swearing by settling the matter). Should he nevertheless take the oath, there is no harm, for he is truthfully swearing over a rightful claim.