Abu al-Hasan al-Sarakhsi informed us; Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Hashimi informed us; Abu Mus‘ab informed us, from Malik, from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, 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, let him make expiation for his oath and do that which is better.” (1)

Regarding His saying, “Allah does not take you to task for thoughtless utterances in your oaths”: thoughtless speech is every discarded utterance that carries no weight. The scholars differed concerning the thoughtless oath mentioned in this verse. Some said that it is what slips hastily from the tongue in the course of conversation, without deliberate commitment or intent, such as a person saying, “No, by Allah,” “Yes, by Allah,” or “Certainly, by Allah.”

‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Kisa’i informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal informed us; Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm informed us; al-Rabi‘ informed us; al-Shafi‘i informed us; Malik informed us, from Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, from his father, from ‘A’ishah, who said: “A thoughtless oath is a person’s saying, ‘No, by Allah,’ or ‘Yes, by Allah.’” Some narrators transmitted this as a Prophetic report. (2) This was also the view of al-Sha‘bi and ‘Ikrimah, and it was the position of al-Shafi‘i.

It is also related from ‘A’ishah: “Thoughtless oaths are those uttered in jest, disputation, quarrelling, and conversation—words to which the heart does not bind itself.” Others said that it is when a person swears concerning something which he believes to be true, then its contrary becomes clear to him. This was the view of al-Hasan, al-Zuhri, Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i, Qatadah, and Makhul; Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him, also held this view. They said that it entails neither expiation nor sin.

‘Ali said: It is an oath sworn in anger. This was also the view of Tawus. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: It is an oath to commit a sin; Allah does not take a person to task for breaking such an oath. Rather, he should break it and make expiation. Masruq said: “He is not required to make expiation. Would he make expiation for the footsteps of Satan?”

Al-Sha‘bi said concerning a man who swears to commit a sin: “Its expiation is that he repent from it. Every oath which it is unlawful for you to fulfill entails no expiation. For if I were to command him to make expiation, I would be commanding him to persist in what he said.” Zayd ibn Aslam said: It is a man’s supplication against himself, as when one says, “May Allah blind me if I do not do such-and-such,” or, “May Allah strip me of my wealth if I do not come to you tomorrow,” or, “He is a disbeliever if he does such-and-such.” (3) All of this is thoughtless speech for which Allah does not take a person to task. Had He taken them to task for it, He would have hastened their punishment: “If Allah were to hasten evil for people as they hasten good, their term would surely be decreed for them.” (Yunus 10:11) And He said: “Man prays for evil just as he prays for good.” (al-Isra’ 17:11)

Regarding His saying, “But He takes you to task for what your hearts have earned”: that is, for what you have resolved and intended in an oath. What the heart earns is commitment and intention. “And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Know that an oath becomes binding only by Allah, by one of His names, or by one of His divine attributes. An oath by Allah is for one to say: “By the One whom I worship,” “By the One to whom I pray,” or “By the One in whose hand is my soul,” and the like. An oath by His names is such as saying: “By Allah,” “By the Most Merciful,” and the like. An oath by His attributes is such as saying: “By Allah’s might,” “By Allah’s greatness,” “By Allah’s majesty,” or “By Allah’s power,”