Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpuri
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Samurah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When you take an oath to do something, then see that something else is better than it, then do that which is better and offer expiation for your oath.”
When an oath is taken regarding a permissible act and later it becomes clear that another act is better, then one should break the oath and do what is better. Therefore, if an oath was taken to refrain from an impermissible act, changing that oath is not only permissible but rather obligatory.
Question:
A woman took an oath that she would never marry throughout her lifetime. What should she do now?Answer:
Marriage is a Sunnah of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, and abandoning it without a valid Sharʿī excuse is not permissible. Therefore, the woman who has taken an oath not to marry should break her oath, proceed with marriage, and also offer the expiation (kaffārah) for the oath.❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Samurah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Translation:إِذَا حَلَفْتَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ وَرَأَيْتَ غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا فَأْتِ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ وَكَفِّرْ عَنْ يَمِينِكَ
“When you take an oath to do something, then see that something else is better than it, then do that which is better and offer expiation for your oath.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6722; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1652
When an oath is taken regarding a permissible act and later it becomes clear that another act is better, then one should break the oath and do what is better. Therefore, if an oath was taken to refrain from an impermissible act, changing that oath is not only permissible but rather obligatory.
