The second is when the person deliberately utters an oath, convinced of his own truthfulness, but later discovers that the matter is otherwise. In these two kinds of unintentional oaths the swearer incurs neither sin nor expiation.

Hadith 1
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Samurah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Samurah, do not ask for authority, for if it is given to you because you requested it you will be left to manage it on your own, but if it is granted to you without your asking you will be helped in it. And whenever you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, offer the expiation for your oath and do that which is better.”

Hadith 2
Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) declared, “By Allah—if Allah so wills—I never swear an oath and then perceive something else to be better without choosing what is better and freeing myself from the oath.”

Overall meaning
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gives counsel to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Samurah, and through him to the entire community. He says: do not seek the governorship, any position of authority, or public office, nor strive to obtain it through influence or intermediaries. If you gain such a post by that path you will be left to your own strength, and without Allah’s aid and success you are weak and limited, so you will fail in your task. This is because you relied on your own effort, entered the office with vanity and self-admiration, and left no place in your heart for seeking Allah’s help; it is only fitting, then, that you be forsaken. Moreover, you usually seek the post only for your private interests. Your aims—whether wealth, prestige, or something else—become your sole concern, and you will not give the work its due; that too leads to failure and lack of success.

If, however, the position comes to you without your asking, it is more likely—since you never coveted it—that you will care about fulfilling its duties and striving in it. This will move you to seek Allah’s assistance and direction; you will work diligently, and thus you will be aided and will succeed.

He then mentions that you may have uttered an oath regarding refusing or accepting office. He instructs that if you swear to do something or to leave it, and no serious consequence depends on the oath, you are free either to carry it out or to make the expiation. Yet if what is better is to do what you had sworn to leave, or to leave what you had sworn to do, then do that which—