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What is the ruling on fulfilling an oath that was intended in a metaphorical sense, commonly understood in custom, and is it obligatory to fulfill it or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Expiation is required for a binding oath concerning a future matter where one can either fulfill or break it, provided there is a choice and no compulsion. If the one who swore the oath breaks it willingly and remembering, expiation becomes obligatory. However, there is no expiation for a false oath (yamin al-ghamūs), a vain oath (yamin al-laghw), or an oath made unintentionally. Custom and intention are considered in oaths. If the expression "you will eat a severe beating" (ta'kulīna ṭarīḥah) means severe beating in the custom of the speaker, then it is considered a binding oath, and expiation becomes obligatory upon breaking it.

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

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