nominal, as when one says, “By the life of Allah, I shall certainly do it,” or, “What is lawful is forbidden to me; I shall certainly do it.”

This division is not peculiar to oaths between a servant and Allah. Other contracts between human beings may likewise take the conditional form, comprising a condition and its consequence, as when one says in a reward contract, “Whoever returns my runaway slave shall receive such-and-such,” or in a race, “Whoever finishes first shall receive such-and-such.” At other times, they take [a categorical and definitive form]: either a declarative form, as when one says, “I have sold,” or, “I have given in marriage”; or a request, as when one says, “Sell it to me,” or, “Grant me a compensated divorce.”

[The Third Premise, Which Reveals the Underlying Rationale of Questions Concerning Oaths and the Like]

The third premise—which reveals the underlying rationale of questions concerning oaths and the like—is that the conditional form, also called the form of condition and consequence, is divided into six types. This is because the person swearing may intend only the occurrence of the condition, only the occurrence of the consequence, or the occurrence of both. Alternatively, he may not intend either of them to occur; rather, he may intend only the nonoccurrence of the condition, only the nonoccurrence of the consequence, or the nonoccurrence of both.

The first category resembles many forms of compensated divorce, contractual manumission, vows of devotion, reward contracts, and the like. A man may say to his wife, “If you give me one thousand, you are divorced,” or, “If you give me one thousand, I have granted you a compensated divorce.” He may say to his slave, “If you pay one thousand, you are free”; or say, “If you return my runaway slave, you shall receive one thousand dirhams”; or say, “If Allah heals my sick relative, or my property that is away remains safe, then I am bound to manumit such-and-such a slave or give such-and-such in charity.” The person making the conditional declaration may intend nothing beyond receiving the money, the return of the slave, and the safety of life and property. He undertakes the consequence solely as consideration, just as a seller intends only to receive the price and undertakes to [deliver] the item sold as consideration.