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Will a person be held accountable for deliberately distorting their oath by Allah and uttering it incorrectly in order to cheat, and does expiation for the oath become binding upon them if they were lying?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Deception and fraud are forbidden in Islamic law and are considered major sins. An oath is only valid if sworn by one of Allah's names or attributes. Distorting Allah's name or the wording of an oath is forbidden, and such an oath is not binding. Using tawriyah (equivocation) in an oath (uttering a word that carries two meanings, intending one while the listener understands the other) is permissible if it does not lead to the annulment of a right or the establishment of falsehood. The oppressor who swears an oath will not benefit from tawriyah, and a false oath (al-yameen al-ghamūs) is a major sin requiring repentance. According to the Shāfiʿī school, it also necessitates expiation.

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

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