❖ Islamic Ruling on Giving Oaths to Children and the Requirement of Expiation ❖
This writing is excerpted from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the Fatwas of the Scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
❖ Question:
I often give my children oaths, saying things like: “You must not do this,” but they don’t obey me.
In such situations, is expiation (kaffārah) due upon me?
❖ Answer:
If you intentionally and deliberately swear an oath to your children or anyone else, regarding doing or refraining from a particular act, and they do not follow it, then:
✔ Kaffārah (expiation) becomes obligatory upon you,
Because Allah ﷻ says:
﴿لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّـهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ…﴾ [Al-Mā’idah: 89]
“Allah will not call you to account for your idle oaths, but He will call you to account for oaths taken deliberately. The expiation is: feeding ten needy people with the average of what you feed your own families, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. But whoever cannot afford it must fast for three days. This is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn. And protect your oaths.”
❖ Additional Clarification:
If you take an oath regarding a certain matter, but later realize that breaking the oath serves a better purpose, then it is permissible to break it, but:
✔ You must still offer expiation (kaffārah).
This is based on the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
“If you swear an oath and then see that something else is better, then pay the kaffārah for your oath and do what is better.”
(Former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia – Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله)
❖ How to Offer Kaffārah for a Broken Oath:
One of the following must be done:
➊ Feed ten needy people,
– Each with an average meal, or
– 1.5 kg of staple food (e.g., rice, dates, etc.)
➋ Or provide clothing to ten needy people,
➌ Or free a slave (if applicable).
If none of these are possible, then:
➍ Fast for three consecutive days.
