“Allah does not take you to task for thoughtless words in your oaths, but He takes you to task for what your hearts have earned. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.” (225)

Regarding His saying, “Do not make Allah an excuse for your oaths”: this was revealed concerning ‘Abd Allah ibn Rawahah. There was some dispute between him and Bashir ibn al-Nu‘man al-Ansari, who was married to his sister. ‘Abd Allah swore that he would neither visit him, nor speak to him, nor reconcile him with his adversary. Whenever he was urged to do so, he would say, “I have sworn by Allah that I will not do it, so you must uphold my oath for me.” Then Allah revealed this verse. (1)

Ibn Jurayj said: “It was revealed concerning Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, when he swore that he would not provide for Mistah after he had taken part in the slanderous report.” (2)

The term ‘urḍah originally denotes firmness and strength. Thus, an animal kept for travel is called an ‘urḍah because of its strength for that purpose. It was then applied to anything suitable for a particular thing; hence they would say of a woman, “She is eligible for marriage,” when she is fit for it. An ‘urḍah also means anything that stands in the way and prevents one from something.

Thus, the meaning of the verse is: Do not make swearing by Allah a hindrance that prevents you from righteousness and piety. One of you may be called upon to maintain ties of kinship or to do a good deed, and say, “I have sworn by Allah that I will not do it,” thereby using his oath as an excuse for abandoning what is right. The phrase “that you be righteous” means “that you not be righteous,” as in His saying: “Allah makes clear to you lest you go astray” (al-Nisa’ 4:176), that is, so that you do not go astray: “and that you fear Him and reconcile people. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”