, but He will hold you accountable for oaths you have solemnly made. The expiation is to feed ten needy people with food of the average standard you feed your families, or to clothe them, or to free a slave. Whoever cannot afford this must fast for three days. That is the expiation for your oaths when you have sworn them. And guard your oaths. Thus Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be grateful.”

Allah mentions the word “oaths” in four places: in His words, “Allah will not hold you accountable for unintentional oaths”; His words, “for oaths you have solemnly made”; His words, “That is the expiation for your oaths when you have sworn them”; and His words, “And guard your oaths.”

And He Most High said:

“O Prophet, why do you forbid yourself what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

“Allah has already prescribed for you a way to release yourselves from your oaths. Allah is your Protector, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

This question expresses disapproval and implies a prohibition. Allah does not ask questions to acquire understanding or knowledge, for He knows all things. Rather, specialists in Arabic call this a “question expressing disapproval.” Such a question conveys rejection of what the sentence expresses: either a denial, if its content is declarative, or a prohibition, if its content is non-declarative. Speech is either declarative or non-declarative. Examples include His words, “May Allah pardon you! Why did you give them permission?” and His words, “Why do you say what you do not do?” and similar passages.

Allah Most High thus forbade His Prophet to prohibit what is lawful, just as He forbade the believers to do so. He also stated that He had prescribed for them a way to release themselves from their oaths, just as He mentioned expiation for an oath after forbidding the prohibition of lawful things in Sūrat al-Mā’idah.

His words, “Allah has already prescribed for you a way to release yourselves from your oaths,” refer to what He mentioned