“Whoever swears an oath and then sees that another course is better should do what is better and make expiation for his oath.”

Since the wording of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning the ruling on making an exception is the same as his wording concerning the ruling on expiation, it necessarily follows that whenever making an exception is effective, expiation is also effective, and whenever expiation is effective, making an exception is also effective. Ahmad explicitly stated this in several places.

Whoever claims that, by saying:

“Whoever swears an oath and says, ‘If Allah wills,’ is not held to have broken his oath,”

the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, intended all oaths that people swear—whether by Allah or involving vows, divorce, or manumission—but that, by saying:

“Whoever swears an oath and then sees that another course is better,”

he intended only oaths by Allah, or only oaths by Allah and those involving vows, holds a weak view. For the import of one wording was just as present in the mind of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as the import of the other, since both use the same wording. Moreover, the ruling in both is of the same kind: release from the oath, whether by making an exception or by expiation.

Having said this, know that the Muslim community has divided into three groups over whether divorce and manumission fall within the hadith concerning making an exception.

One group said that divorce and manumission themselves fall within it. Thus, even if someone says, “You are divorced, if Allah wills,” or, “You are free, if Allah wills,” this falls within the general scope of the hadith. This is the view of Abū Hanīfah, al-Shāfi‘ī, and others.