Does an expiatory oath (kaffarat yamin) become binding on one who swore to perform an act, but then did not perform it due to the prevailing opinion of the other party and their insistence on performing it instead?
If two people swear an oath concerning a matter, and then one of them breaks the oath, the expiation (kaffarah) is obligatory upon the one who swore the oath, not upon the one for whom the oath was sworn. This is the view of the majority of jurists. Some scholars have differentiated between whether the one who swore the oath believed that the one for whom the oath was sworn would obey him or not. If he believed that he would obey him, but he did not, then there is no expiation upon him because it is considered a vain oath (laghw).
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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