In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. May Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family.

Book of Oaths of Marital Abstinence

Section
On the Derivation of the Term Īlāʾ

Īlāʾ and taʾallī mean committing oneself by an oath to refrain from doing something or from leaving it undone. The corresponding forms are ālā, yūlī, with the verbal nouns īlāʾ and āliya; taʾallā, with taʾallī and iʾtilāʾ; and iʾtalā, yaʾtalī, with iʾtilāʾ. Allah Most High says:

“Let not those of virtue and wealth among you swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and those who have emigrated in the cause of Allah” [al-Nūr: 22], up to His words: “All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Nūr: 22].

This verse was revealed concerning Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him. When Allah, exalted be He, revealed the vindication of ʿĀʾisha and her innocence of the accusation made against her, Abū Bakr—may Allah Most High be pleased with him—swore that he would no longer provide financial support to Mistah ibn Uthātha, his maternal aunt’s son, or to other relatives, because they had participated in spreading the allegations against his daughter ʿĀʾisha, may Allah be pleased with her. Allah then revealed this verse. Upon its revelation, Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “By Allah, I do indeed wish that Allah would forgive me.” He therefore resumed supporting them and said, “I shall never withhold it from them.”

Concerning such an oath, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “He has sworn not to do good.” He was referring to a man who had sworn neither to reduce what his buyer owed him nor to release him from the sale of some dates on which the buyer had suffered a loss.

The poet said, using īlāʾ:

So I swore not to come to you if I were guilty,
Nor seek anyone but you as a neighbour and protector.