Ruling on swearing on the Mushaf and the expiation for breaking such an oath

[bamalli]

Ruling on swearing on the Mushaf and the expiation for breaking such an oath

Question:
I swore on the Mushaf and put my hand on it, but I could not fulfil the oath. Is there any expiation?.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

An oath is not binding unless it is sworn by one of the names of Allaah or by one of His attributes.

Swearing on the Qur'aan is swearing by the word of Allaah which is one of His attributes. As for swearing by the Mushaf, if what is meant is the words of Allaah contained therein, then it is an Islamically acceptable oath, but if what is meant is the paper and ink, then it is an oath by something other than Allah, which is shirk, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever swears by something other than Allaah has committed an act of kufr or shirk." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1535) and Abu Dawood (3251); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Hence it is better not to swear by the Mushaf, because the Mushaf contains the words of Allaah, and it contains paper and ink.

As for putting one's hand on the Mushaf or inside it, this is an innovated thing which some people do for emphasis to warn the one who is swearing the oath against lying.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on swearing by the Mushaf.

He (may Allaah have mercy on him) replied: It is not permissible to make vows or swear oaths except by Allaah or by one of His attributes. If a person swears by Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, then there is no need to bring the Mushaf for him to swear on it, because swearing on the Mushaf was not done at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or at the time of the Sahaabah; even after the Mushaf was compiled in book form they did not swear on it, rather a person would swear by Allaah without swearing on the Mushaf. End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb.

It says in a statement of the Islamic Fiqh Council:

2 – It is not essential for the person who is swearing the oath to place his hand on the Mushaf, Torah or Gospel when swearing for his oath to be valid, but it is permissible if the judge deems it essential so as to warn the one who is swearing the oath against lying.

3 – It is not permissible for the Muslim to place his hand on the Torah or Gospel when swearing an oath, because these copies that are in circulation are distorted and that are not in the original form that was revealed to Moosa and 'Eesa (peace be upon them), and because the sharee'ah with which Allaah sent His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has abrogated the laws that came before it.

End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah (3/463)

Secondly:

If a person swears an oath then he cannot fulfil that oath, he has to offer expiation. The expiation for breaking an oath (kafaarat yameen) is explained as follows:

And Allaah knows best.

What is kafaarat yameen in detail?

Question:
Please explain kafaarat yameen (the expiation for breaking a vow) in detail.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. 

Kafaarat yameen is mentioned by Allaah in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

"Allaah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths; for its expiation (a deliberate oath) feed ten Masaakeen (poor persons), on a scale of the average of that with which you feed your own families, or clothe them or manumit a slave. But whosoever cannot afford (that), then he should fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths when you have sworn. And protect your oaths (i.e. do not swear much). Thus Allaah makes clear to you His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) that you may be grateful"
[al-Maa'idah 5:89]

So the person has the choice of three things: 

1 – Feeding ten poor persons with the average kind of food that he feeds his family, by giving each person half a saa' of the usual local staple, such as rice etc. This is equivalent to approximately one-and-a-half kilograms. If rice is usually eaten with some kind of sauce then along with the rice he should give them some sauce or meat. If he gathers together ten poor people and offers them lunch or dinner, this is sufficient.

2 – Clothing ten poor people, which means giving each one clothing that is suitable for praying in, so for a man he would give a thobe or dishdasha or a lower garment and upper garment (izaar and rida'), and for a woman a concealing dress and a head cover.

3 – Freeing a believing slave.

Whoever cannot do any of the above should fast for three consecutive days.

The majority of scholars are of the view that it is not sufficient to pay the kafaarah in cash.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is not sufficient to offer the value of the food or clothing to be given in expiation, because Allaah mentions food, so expiation cannot be offered by any other means, and because Allaah has given us a choice between three things, and if it were permissible to pay the value, the choice would not be limited to these three things...

Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, 11/256

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: But the kafaarah should be offered in the form of food, not cash, because this is what it says in the Qur'aan and Sunnah. What must be offered is half a saa' of the local staple food, whether it be dates, wheat or something else. That is equivalent to approximately one-and-a-half kilograms. If you give them lunch or dinner, or give them clothes which are suitable for praying in – namely a thobe or a lower and upper garment (izaar and rida') – that is sufficient.

From Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/481

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said:

If a person cannot find a slave to free, or clothes or food to give, then he must fast three consecutive days with no break in between.

Fataawa Manaar al-Islam, 3/667

And Allaah knows best.