Is expiation obligatory upon one who swore not to take anything from the inheritance, then took it due to his need for money?
Whoever swears an oath to do something or to refrain from doing something, then acts contrary to what they swore, has broken their oath and must offer expiation for the oath.
If the one who swore the oath is in need of money, then breaking the oath in this case is permissible, and may even be preferable, because spending on oneself takes precedence over giving charity to others.
Ibn Qudamah said: "If the oath was to perform an obligation, or to abstain from a forbidden act, then breaking it is forbidden... If it was to perform a permissible act, then breaking it is permissible... And if the oath was to perform a forbidden act, or to neglect an obligation, then breaking it is obligatory." He based this on the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "If you swear an oath, and then see that something else is better than it, then do that which is better, and offer expiation for your oath."
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- 133950
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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