specific name; rather, the term “gambling” encompasses both. The majority of scholars hold that backgammon and chess are forbidden, whether played for stakes or without them.

Likewise, His words:

“Allah does not hold you accountable for your unintentional oaths, but He holds you accountable for the oaths you deliberately bind yourselves to. The expiation is to feed ten poor people from the average of what you feed your families”—up to His words—“when you swear,”

and His words:

“Allah has prescribed for you a way to release yourselves from your oaths,”

include both the oaths Muslims used to swear during the Prophet’s lifetime, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and those they came to swear afterward. Thus, if someone swore in Persian, Turkish, an Indian language, or Berber, invoking the name of Allah Most High in that language, his oath would be binding. If he broke it, expiation would be obligatory upon him by the agreement of the scholars, even though oaths in these languages were not among those sworn by Muslims during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

This differs from swearing by created things, such as the Kaaba, angels, shaykhs, kings, and others. These are not among the oaths of Muslims; rather, they constitute associating partners with Allah, as he said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Whoever swears by other than Allah has associated partners with Him.”

Likewise, the Most High said:

“And you find no water, then perform dry ablution with earth.”

This encompasses everything called “earth” and every kind of water, whether it existed during the Prophet’s lifetime, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or came into existence afterward. Thus, if some people opened up springs containing water differing in color, smell, taste, and original constitution, it would be obligatory to use it for ritual bathing, with no disagreement known to us among