Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had sworn an oath that he did not have the means to provide mounts for them,
(MA ‘INDĪ MĀ AḤMILUKUM ‘ALAYH)
therefore, he would not provide them with mounts.
Then, when Allah the Exalted created the means for purchasing mounts,
he provided them with mounts.
However, since Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (radi Allahu anhu) thought
that perhaps the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had forgotten his oath,
he feared that these mounts would not be a source of blessing for them.
Since he was the representative of his people,
sometimes the mention is made of all of them,
and sometimes only his coming is mentioned.
And in reality, he had come alone,
so, in order to take his companions into confidence regarding the Prophet’s first response,
he needed to bring them along again.
Since the mounts were provided by the command of Allah the Exalted,
and not from his own side,
the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said,
“I did not mount you; Allah mounted you.”
In this regard, his oath was not broken,
because he had refused and sworn the oath
on the basis that he did not have the means.
When Allah the Exalted provided the means,
the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave them the mounts.
In other words, he had refused to give from his own property,
but later provided them at the expense of the Bayt al-Mal (public treasury),
so his oath was not broken.
However, for the sake of clarifying the issue, he explained,
“If, in providing you with mounts, I had to break my oath,
then I would have broken my oath,
because it is not correct to abandon a better deed in order to avoid the expiation of an oath (kafarah),
rather, one should do the better deed and pay the expiation for the oath.
Another meaning could be that I did not do this out of forgetfulness,
but rather because it was better to break the oath and provide you with mounts than to persist in the oath,
and my principle is that if doing an action is better than persisting in an oath, I do not persist in the oath,
but break it and pay its expiation.”

Chapter of Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number: 6678: «بَابُ الْيَمِينِ فِيمَا لاَ يَمْلِكُ، وَفِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَفِي الْغَضَبِ:»
Relevance between the Chapter and the Hadith:
In the translation of the chapter, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has clarified the issue of what the expiation (kaffarah) would be if someone swears an oath in a state of anger before owning something, and what the solution would be if that thing later comes into his ownership. In the hadith under the chapter, the mention is of an oath regarding giving mounts, at a time when the mounts were not in the ownership of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. When they came into his ownership, giving them did not break the oath nor did it necessitate expiation. This hadith can also serve as an example of swearing an oath in a state of anger. Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah writes:
«و الذى يظهر أن البخاري قصد غير هذا و هو أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم حلف أن لا يحملهم فلما حملهم راجعوه فى يمينه فقال: ما أنا حملتكم ولكنا الله حملكم، فبين أن يمينه انما انعقدت فيما يملك فلو حملهم على ما يملك لحنت و كفّر.» (1)
“What is apparent is that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah does not intend that when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam swore that he would not give them mounts, and then when he gave them, they reminded him of his oath, so he said: ‘It is not I who have mounted you, rather Allah Ta’ala has mounted you,’ he clarified that the oath of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was related to what was in his ownership. If he had mounted them on mounts that were in his ownership, then he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would have been perjured and would have had to offer expiation.”
According to Ibn al-Munir rahimahullah, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had sworn that he would not give them a mount, then when he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave them a mount, he referred them back to his oath and said: “These mounts were not given to you by me, rather Allah Ta’ala gave them to you.” Furthermore, Ibn al-Munir rahimahullah, shedding light on this issue, writes:
«فلو حملهم على ما يملكه لكفّر، و لا خلاف فيما إذا حلف على شيئي و ليس فى ملكه انه لا يفعل فعلاً متعلقًا بذالك الشيئي مثل قوله: ”والله لا ركبت هذا البعير“ و لم يكن البعير فى ملكه، فلو ملكه و ركبه حنث و كفّر و ليس هذا من تعليق العتق على الملك.» (1)
“So if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had mounted them on something that was in his ownership, then he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would have had to offer expiation. He says that there is no difference of opinion in the matter that whoever swears an oath regarding something that is not in his ownership, that he will not do an act connected to that thing—for example, he says: ‘If you ride this camel, by Allah, I will do such and such,’ and that camel is not in his ownership—then if he ever becomes its owner and then rides it, he becomes perjured, and this ownership is not from the category of suspending every oath.”
The summary of these discussions is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “These mounts have been given to you by Allah Ta’ala.” If these mounts had been in the ownership of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself, then he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would have offered expiation for his oath.
Now the relevance between the chapter and the hadith is clear.
In reality, the chapter heading established by Imam Bukhari rahimahullah consists of three parts: the first part «يمين» meaning the oath, the second part «في المعصية» meaning disobedience, and the third part «في حالة الغضب» meaning swearing an oath in anger.
To establish these three parts, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has selected three ahadith under the chapter, and the meaning of the chapter is evident from all three.
The first hadith, which he narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa radi Allahu anhu, matches the chapter as follows; Allamah Ayni rahimahullah says:
«مطابقة للجزء الأول للترجمة و هو اليمين فيما لا يملك.» (2)
“The relevance of the first part to the hadith is with the oath regarding something that he does not own.”
The relevance of the second part is with the second hadith as follows. Allamah Ayni rahimahullah writes:
«مطابقة للجزء الثاني للترجمة فى قوله: ”و الله لا أنفق على مسطح شيئًا أبدًا“ و هو مطابق لترك اليمين فى المعصية.» (3)
“The relevance of the second part with the second hadith is in these words: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr radi Allahu anhu said: ‘By Allah! I will never spend on Mistah radi Allahu anhu again.’ This matches the abandonment of an oath that is based on disobedience.”
The relevance of the third part is with the third hadith in these words; Allamah Ayni rahimahullah writes:
«مطابقة للجزء الثالث من الترجمة فى قوله: فوافقته و هو غضبان، فاستحملناه فخلف أن لا يحملنا.» (1)
“The relevance of the third part is in these words: ‘When I came to you, you were angry, then we asked you for a riding animal, so you swore an oath that you could not arrange one for us.’”

Hadith Commentary:

After arrangements were made later, he broke his oath and offered its expiation.

The correspondence between the chapter and the hadith is evident.

Abu Musa Abdullah bin Qais al-Ash'ari accepted Islam in Makkah, migrated to Abyssinia, and returned from Abyssinia with the People of the Ship (Ahl al-Safina).

In 20 AH, al-Faruq (radi Allahu anhu) appointed him as the governor of Basra.

He passed away in 52 AH.

Radi Allahu anhu wa ardah.

Hadith Commentary:
From this hadith, all three components can be established, the details of which are as follows:
➊ When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took the oath, at that time he did not possess any mounts.
➋ At the time of taking the oath, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was in a state of anger.
➌ Providing mounts is an act of virtue.
He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took an oath to abandon it.
If an oath is taken in such circumstances, it becomes binding.
If one acts contrary to it, expiation (kaffarah) must be given, just as the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave expiation for his oath, and this is what Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (radi Allahu anhu) and his companions understood, and they returned and apologized. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) himself clarified that if I take an oath regarding a matter, and later I realize that doing that act is better, then I do that act and give expiation for my oath.
(Fath al-Bari: 11/689)

Hadith Commentary:
In the narration, there is mention of Abu Musa Ash‘ari (radi Allahu anhu) requesting mounts from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Coincidentally, at that time, mounts were not available. Therefore, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declined. After a short while, mounts became available, and the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had Abu Musa (radi Allahu anhu) called back and gave him five or six camels.

Now, Abu Musa (radi Allahu anhu) feared that his companions might consider him a liar, thinking: “Just now he said that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was not giving mounts, and now he has returned with mounts.” For this reason, Abu Musa (radi Allahu anhu) said to them: “Come with me and confirm my statement with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), so that you may be certain of what I have said.” Thus, upon Abu Musa’s (radi Allahu anhu) strong insistence, six men presented themselves before the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and confirmed Abu Musa’s (radi Allahu anhu) account.

Abu Musa ‘Abdullah ibn Qays Ash‘ari (radi Allahu anhu) is a well-known Muhajir (Emigrant) Companion. He also migrated to Abyssinia and came to Madinah with the People of the Ship (Ahl al-Safina) while the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was at Khaybar. ‘Umar al-Faruq (radi Allahu anhu) appointed him as governor of Basrah in the year 20 AH, and during the caliphate of ‘Uthman, he was appointed governor of Kufah. At that time, he had come to Makkah. He passed away in Makkah in the year 52 AH, radi Allahu anhu wa ardah.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In this hadith, there is mention of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu requesting mounts from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Coincidentally, at that time, mounts were not available, so the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam refused.
A short while later, mounts became available, and he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu and provided him with several mounts.
Now, Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu became concerned that his companions might call him a liar, meaning: just now he said that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not have any mounts, and yet he has come back with mounts.
On this basis, he told his companions to come along with him and verify his statement so that they would be certain of what he said. Accordingly, at his insistence, six men presented themselves before the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and confirmed the statement of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu.

➋
In the chapter regarding the arrival of the Ash‘aris, five camels are mentioned, whereas in this narration, six camels are mentioned. It is possible that these are multiple incidents.
When the Ash‘ari people arrived, they were given five camels, and for participation in the Battle of Tabuk, six camels were given, because the Ash‘ari people came in the seventh year (Hijri), while the Battle of Tabuk took place in the ninth year (Hijri). Besides, a slightly greater number is not contradictory.
And Allah knows best.