Hadith 1655

This hadith is listed as number 4291 in Maktaba Shamila

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ ، عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ ، قَالَ : هَذَا مَا حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَذَكَرَ أَحَادِيثَ مِنْهَا ، وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " وَاللَّهِ لَأَنْ يَلَجَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِيَمِينِهِ فِي أَهْلِهِ آثَمُ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْطِيَ كَفَّارَتَهُ الَّتِي فَرَضَ اللَّهُ " .
Hammam bin Munabbih reported: This is what Abu Hurairah (RA) reported to us from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) , and he narrated a hadith and (one) of them is that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: I swear by Allah, it is more sinful in Allah's sight for one of you to persist in an oath regarding his family than payment of its expiation which Allah has imposed upon him (for breaking the oath).
Hadith Reference صحيح مسلم / كتاب القسامة / 1655
Hadith Grading محدثین: أحاديث صحيح مسلم كلها صحيحة
Hadith Takhrij «أحاديث صحيح مسلم كلها صحيحة»
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: If a person takes such an oath that, by insisting upon it or remaining stubborn, his wife and children are subjected to harm and hardship, and the act itself is not a sin or disobedience, and he insists on the oath thinking that breaking the oath is sinful, then this is merely his own opinion and notion. In such a case, the sin lies in insisting upon the oath, not in breaking it. Here, the word "aatham" (more sinful) is used in the comparative form according to his perception, because he considers breaking the oath to be a sin, or it is used as ‘ala sabeel al-tanazzul (for the sake of argument), that if, hypothetically, breaking the oath is a sin, then causing harm and hardship to the family is an even greater sin. And one can avoid the sin of breaking the oath by giving its expiation (kaffarah); but what way is there to remove the harm and hardship caused to them? And the comparative form can also be used in the sense of mere increase, meaning that this insistence is a cause of sin for him. And the word "ahl" (family) is general in its meaning; otherwise, insisting on an oath that causes harm and hardship to anyone, on the basis that "I have sworn an oath, I cannot break it," is not correct. He should break the oath and pay its expiation.

The expiation (kaffarah) for breaking an oath is to feed ten needy people with average food, or to clothe them, or to free a slave. If he cannot do any of these three things, then he must fast for three days. ()
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 4291