Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Whoever takes a false oath in order to unlawfully seize the property of a Muslim will meet Allah Almighty while Allah is angry with him.
Then this verse was revealed:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 77]
Translation:
“Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price.”
Ashʿath bin Qays came and asked: “O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (the kunyah of ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه), what are you narrating?” We replied: “He is narrating this ḥadīth.” Ashʿath said: “He has spoken the truth. This verse was revealed concerning me. There was a land dispute between me and a man from my people. I brought the case before the Prophet ﷺ. He said: ‘Produce your evidence.’ I had no evidence, so he said to the other man: ‘Take an oath.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! He will take an oath.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: ‘Whoever takes a false oath in order to seize the property of a Muslim will meet Allah while He is angry with him.’ Then this verse was revealed:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 77]
Translation:
“Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price.”
Question:
Does expiation (kaffārah) become obligatory for taking a false oath regarding a past matter?Answer:
Taking a false oath regarding a past matter does not make expiation obligatory. However, such a person is sinful. For example, if someone says: “By Allah! I had given such-and-such amount of money as a loan to that person,” while in reality he did not, then no expiation is due upon him, but he is a sinner and repentance is obligatory upon him. Expiation becomes obligatory when an oath is taken regarding a present or future matter and then it is broken.❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Whoever takes a false oath in order to unlawfully seize the property of a Muslim will meet Allah Almighty while Allah is angry with him.
Then this verse was revealed:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 77]
Translation:
“Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price.”
Ashʿath bin Qays came and asked: “O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (the kunyah of ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه), what are you narrating?” We replied: “He is narrating this ḥadīth.” Ashʿath said: “He has spoken the truth. This verse was revealed concerning me. There was a land dispute between me and a man from my people. I brought the case before the Prophet ﷺ. He said: ‘Produce your evidence.’ I had no evidence, so he said to the other man: ‘Take an oath.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! He will take an oath.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: ‘Whoever takes a false oath in order to seize the property of a Muslim will meet Allah while He is angry with him.’ Then this verse was revealed:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 77]
Translation:
“Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2666
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 220/138
