concerning whatever of them he may do afterwards; although some have held that his oath is not broken until he carries out every single act he swore about.

Whoever says, “Upon the covenants of Allah,” “Upon the pledges of Allah,” or “Upon the expiations of Allah,” is, according to Mālik, liable for three oaths. Swearing by anything other than Allah is reprehensible and forbidden, and it carries no expiation. The explicit form of an oath is for the swearer to say “by Allah” (bi-llāh, ta-llāh, or wa-llāh). Likewise, if he says, “I swear by Allah,” “I testify by Allah,” “I adjure by Allah,” “I solemnly swear by Allah,” “I have sworn by Allah,” “I have testified by Allah,” “I have adjured by Allah,” or the like, all the jurists agree that it is an oath.

In the view of Mālik and his companions, the same ruling applies when a person simply says, “I swear,” “I testify,” “I adjure,” or “I take an oath,” without adding “by Allah,” provided that he intends Allah thereby; if he does not intend Allah, it is not an oath. Mālik regarded the phrase “aʿzimu billāh” as weak, seeming to consider it an oath only when the speaker means it as such, for it is often uttered merely as a plea for assistance. This is the sounder position, because it resembles a person’s saying, “I seek the help of Allah” or “I rely on the power of Allah,” expressions that no one counts as oaths.

If someone says to another, “I adjure you to do such-and-such,” then, if he intended only to request the act, nothing is incurred; but if he meant thereby to bind himself with an oath, he is perjured if he fails to do what he swore.

Whoever swears by any religion and then breaks it incurs nothing. Similarly, if a person says, “I disbelieve in Allah,” or “I shall be a Jew or a Christian if I speak to so-and-so or do such-and-such,” none of that constitutes an oath; he should seek Allah’s forgiveness.

Anyone who swears by Allah, or by one of His attributes, or by one of His names, and then adds, “if Allah wills,” has introduced an exception and nothing is required of him. Whoever attaches that exception directly after his oath nullifies the legal effect of the oath, and it is as though he never swore. If, however, he pauses and then adds the exception after the break, the exception is of no benefit when the pause was deliberate. But if the interruption occurred involuntarily—because of a cough, a sneeze, a yawn, or the like—and he then resumes his oath and immediately adds the exception, the exception is valid, and no