Book Seventy Nine – The Book on Expiation for Unfulfilled Oaths

Hadith Number 699.

Narrated by Ka'b bin 'Ujra (Radhi Allahu Anhu): I came to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and he said to me, "Come near." So I went near to him and he said, "Are your lice troubling you?" I replied, "Yes." He said, "(Shave your head and) make expiation in the form of fasting, Sadaqah (giving in charity), or offering a sacrifice." (The sub-narrator) Aiyub said, "Fasting should be for three days, and the Nusuk (sacrifice) is to be a sheep, and the Sadaqah is to be given to six poor persons."


Hadith Number 700.

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu): A man came to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and said, "I am ruined!" The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "What is the matter with you?" He said, "I had sexual relation with my wife (while I was fasting) in Ramadan." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Have you got enough to manumit a slave?" He said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you fast for two successive months?" The man said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you feed sixty poor persons?" The man said, "No." Then the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to him, "Sit down," and he sat down. Afterwards an 'Irq, i.e., a big basket containing dates was brought to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to him, "Take this and give it in charity." The man said, "To poorer people than we?" On that, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) smiled till his premolar teeth became visible, and then told him, "Feed your family with it." (See Hadith No. 157, Book 31)


Hadith Number 701.

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu): A man came to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and said, "I am ruined!" The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to him, "What is the matter?" He said, "I have done a sexual relation with my wife (while fasting) in Ramadan." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to him?" "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you feed sixty poor persons?" He said, "No." Then an Ansari man came with an Irq (a big basket full of dates). The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said (to the man), "Take this (basket) and give it in charity." That man said, "To poorer people than we, O Allah's Messenger? By Him Who has sent you with the Truth! There is no house in between the two mountains (of the city of Al-Madinah) poorer than we." So the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said (to him), "Go and feed it to your family."


Hadith Number 702.

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu): A man came to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)s and said, "I am ruined!" The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "What is the matter with you?" He said, "I have done a sexual relation with my wife (while fasting) in Ramadan" The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to him, "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He said, "No." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "Can you feed sixty poor persons?" He said, "I have nothing." Later on an Irq (big basket) containing dates was given to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), and the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said (to him), "Take this basket and give it in charity." The man said, "To poorer people than we? Indeed, there is nobody between its (i.e., Al-Madinah's) two mountains who is poorer than we." The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) then said, "Take it and feed your family with it."


Hadith Number 703.

Narrated by Al-Ju'aid bin Abdur-Rahman: As-Sa'ib bin Yazid said, "The Sa' at the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) was equal to one Mudd plus one-third of a Mudd of your time, and then it was increased in the time of Caliph 'Umar bin 'Abdul Aziz."


Hadith Number 704.

Narrated by Nafi: Ibn Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhuma) used to give the Zakat of Ramadan (Zakat-al-Fitr) according to the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), the first Mudd, and he also used to give things for expiation for oaths according to the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam). Abu Qutaiba said, "Malik said to us, 'Our Mudd (i.e., of Al-Madinah) is better than yours (*) and we do not see any superiority except in the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)!' (**) Malik further said, to me, 'If a ruler came to you and fixed a Mudd smaller than the one of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), by what Mudd would you measure what you give (for expiation or Zakat-al-Fitr?' I replied, 'We would give it according to the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)' On that, Malik said, 'Then, don't you see that we have to revert to the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) ultimately?'"

* The other Mudd is that used by Hisham, and it was bigger than that of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam).
** Malik asserts that the Mudd of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) should be used because he invoked for Allah's blessings in it, and so it superior to any other Mudd even if it were bigger in size.


Hadith Number 705.

Narrated by Anas bin Malik (Radhi Allahu Anhu): Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "O Allah! Bestow Your Blessings on their measures, Sa' and Mudd (i.e., of the people of Al-Madinah)"

Hadith Number 706.

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu): The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "If somebody manumits a Muslim slave, Allah will save from the Fire every part of his body for freeing the corresponding parts of the slave's body, even his private parts will be saved from the Fire) because of freeing the slave's private parts."


Hadith Number 707.

Narrated by 'Amr: Jabir (Radhi Allahu Anhu) said: An Ansari man made his slave a Mudabbar and he had no other property than him. When the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) heard of that, he said (to his companions), "Who wants to buy him (i.e., the slave) for me?" Nu'aim bin An-Nahham bought him for eight hundred Dirhams. I heard Jabir saying, "That was a coptic slave who died in the same year."


Hadith Number 708.

Narrated by 'Aishah (Radhi Allahu Anha): That she intended to buy Barira (a slave girl) and her masters stipulated that they would have her Wala'. When 'Aishah (Radhi Allahu Anhu) mentioned that to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) ; he said, "Buy her, for the Wala' is for the one who manumits."


Hadith Number 709.

Narrated by Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (Radhi Allahu Anhu): I went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) along with a group of people from (the tribe of) Al-Ash'ari, asking for mounts. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "By Allah, I will not give you anything to ride, and I have nothing to mount you on." We stayed there as long as Allah wished, and after that, some camels were brought to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and he ordered that we be given three camels. When we set out, some of us said to others, "Allah will not bless us, as we all went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) asking him for mounts, and although he had sworn that he would not give us mounts, he did give us." So we returned to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam); and mentioned that to him. He said, "I have not provided you with mounts, but Allah has. By Allah, Allah willing, if I ever take an oath, and then see that another is better than the first, I make expiration for my (dissolved) oath, and do what is better and make expiration."


Hadith Number 710.

Narrated by Hammad : The same narration above (i.e. 709), "I make expiation for my dissolved oath, and I do what is better, or do what is better and make expiation."


Hadith Number 711.

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu): (The Prophet) Suleiman said, "Tonight I will sleep with (my) ninety wives, each of whom will get a male child who will fight for Allah's Cause." On that, his companion (Sufyan said that his companion was an angel) said to him, "Say, "If Allah will (Allah willing)." But Suleiman forgot (to say it). He slept with all his wives, but none of the women gave birth to a child, except one who gave birth to a halfboy. Abu Hurairah added: The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "If Suleiman had said, "If Allah will" (Allah willing), he would not have been unsuccessful in his action, and would have attained what he had desired." Once Abu Hurairah added: Allah Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "If he had accepted." (*)

* If he had accepted the possibility that Allah might not fulfill his desire. Such acceptation is expressed by saying, 'Allah willing'.



Hadith Number 712.

Narrated by Zahdam al-Jarmi: We were sitting with Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (Radhi Allahu Anhu), and as there were ties of friendship and mutual favors between us and his tribe. His meal was presented before him and there was chicken meat in it. Among those who were present there was a man from Bani Taimillah having a red complexion as a non-Arab freed slave, and that man did not approach the meal. Abu Musa said to him, "Come along! I have seen Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) eating of that (i.e., chicken)." The man said, "I have seen it (chickens) eating something I regarded as dirty, and so I have taken an oath that I shall not eat (its meat) chicken." Abu Musa said, "Come along! I will inform you about it (i.e., your oath).

Once we went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) in company with a group of Ash'airiyin, asking him for mounts while he was distributing some camels from the camels of Zakat. (Aiyub said, "I think he said that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) was in an angry mood at the time.") The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, 'By Allah! I will not give you mounts, and I have nothing to mount you on.' After we had left, some camels of booty were brought to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and he said, "Where are those Ash'ariyin? Where are those Ash'ariyin?" So we went (to him) and he gave us five very fat good-looking camels. We mounted them and went away, and then I said to my companions, 'We went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) to give us mounts, but he took an oath that he would not give us mounts, and then later on he sent for us and gave us mounts, perhaps Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) forgot his oath. By Allah, we will never be successful, for we have taken advantage of the fact that Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) forgot to fulfill his oath. So let us return to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) to remind him of his oath.' We returned and said, 'O Allah's Messenger! We came to you and asked you for mounts, but you took an oath that you would not give us mounts) but later on you gave us mounts, and we thought or considered that you have forgotten your oath.' The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, 'Depart, for Allah has given you Mounts. By Allah, Allah willing, if I take an oath and then later find another thing better than that, I do what is better, and make expiation for the oath.' "


Hadith Number 713.

Narrated by Zahdam: The same narration as above (i.e. No. 712).


Hadith Number 714.

Narrated by Zahdam: The same narration as above (i.e. No. 712).


Hadith Number 715.

Narrated by 'Abdur-Rahman bin Samura (Radhi Allahu Anhu): Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, "(O 'Abdur-Rahman!) Do not seek to be a ruler, for, if you are given the authority of ruling without your asking for it, then Allah will help you; but if you are given it by your asking, then you will be held responsible for it (i.e. Allah will not help you). And if you take an oath to do something and later on find another thing, better than that, then do what is better and make expiation for (the dissolution of) your oath."