#849: Ruling on Breaking a Solemn Promise not to take Milk

849. QUESTION

“Salam Akaykum, Pls I would like to ask a few questions. Yesterday I was really hungry. So my friend I decided to buy milk and bread. I felt the has used more than half of the milk. I was pissed so I swear that I won’t use the milk again. Xo we later sorted it out and I was really really hungry. Had to use the milk after swearing . Is there anything I need to do?”

ANSWER:

Wa alaykumu salām wa warahmatullāh wabarakātuh

Alhamdulillāh

As for the one who makes an oath or a solemn promise while angry, there are two possible scenerios:

The first, that he did it while he still knows what he was doing since it is not all anger that takes away your control.

For this, he knew what he was saying and he had some control of himself. In this case, he needs to expiate for his Oath if he breaks it.

Likewise, after his Oath, if he sees that there is a better alternative than what he had sworn, for instance he swears not to do a thing, maybe not to talk to someone again. And after his mind is down, he realizes that it was wrong and a mistake, he needs to expiate for his wrongful oath and then do it.

This was what the Rasūl salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam implied when he said in the Hadith that was recorded by both Imām Al-Bukhārī and Muslim from ‘Abdurrahmān bn Samurah – radiyallāhu ‘anhu:

(إذا حلفت على يمين، فرأيت غيرها خيرًا منها، فكفِّرْ عن يمينك، وأْتِ الذي هو خير)

“If you make an oath on a swear and then you see that what is best is something other than this, expiate for your oath and do that which is best to be done.”

The expiation is the feeding of ten poor persons in the measure of food that you feed your family, or providing clothes for them, or the freeing of a Slave.

For the one who is not capable of doing any of the above, what is compulsory on him is fasting of three days in consecutivity.

Allah referred to this in the 89th verse of Sūratu Al-Mā’idah. He said:

لا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الأَيْمَانَ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيْمَانِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْ كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

The second, that he took the oath unconsciously because his anger was high and clouded his reasoning.

In this case, there is no blame on him because his consiousness wasn’t there.

As for the scenerio you depicted, what is apparent to us is that it is the first and in that case, the Kaffārah is binding upon you.

And Allāh knows best.

Bārakallāhu Fīkum

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