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What is the ruling on someone who swore an oath to another person not to do something, but that person did it and was unaware of the oath?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the intention behind an oath is to prevent the addressed person [from doing something], and that person knows about it, cares about it, and does not violate it, then the swearer does not incur a breach. However, if the swearer did not intend to inform him, or if the person does not care about the oath, then the swearer incurs a breach, whether the action sworn against was done out of ignorance, forgetfulness, or compulsion. It has been said that an oath by Allah the Almighty is similar.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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