❖ 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.
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?
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.”
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)
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.
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.
