your oath.” Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim related this in their Sahih collections. Another version in both Sahih collections reads: “Then make expiation for your oath and do what is better.” Muslim related in his Sahih from Abū Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better than it should make expiation for his oath and do what is better.” Another version reads: “He should do what is better and make expiation for his oath.”

Here, “an oath” is indefinite in a conditional context and therefore applies generally to every oath sworn, whatever its nature. Thus, if a person sees that something other than what he swore to is better—whether he swore to refrain from something good and then sees that doing it is better than refraining from it, or swore to do something evil and then sees that refraining from it is better than doing it—the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to do what is better and make expiation for his oath.

The phrase “swears an oath” here is—Allah knows best—an instance of naming the object of an action by the verbal noun. He called the matter sworn to an “oath,” just as a created thing may be called “creation,” something struck “a striking,” and something sold “a sale,” and so forth.

Likewise, the two Sahih collections relate from Abū Mūsā al-Asharī—in the account of him and his companions when they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asking him to provide them with mounts—that the Prophet said: “By Allah, I will not provide you with mounts, and I have nothing on which to mount you.” He then said: “By Allah—Allah willing—whenever I swear an oath and then see that something else is better than it, I will do what is better and free myself from the oath.” Another version in both Sahih collections reads: “I will make expiation for my oath and do what is better.”