Riyad as-Salihin, 1717
Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Verily, I swear by Allah, if Allah wills, I shall not swear to do something but that if I consider something else to be better than it, then I shall make expiation for my oath and adopt the thing that is better." <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.
وعن أبي موسى رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:
إني والله إن شاء الله لا أحلف على يمين، ثم أرى خيرًا منها إلا كفرت عن يميني، وأتيت الذي هو خير
. ((متفق عليه))
References1 variant
- In-Book Reference
- Book 17, Hadith 207
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
<b>Guidance from the Hadiths:</b><br>
1) If a person takes an oath regarding something and then sees a better course of action, he should do what is better and expiate for his broken oath.<br>
2) Expiating for the broken oath and doing what is better is more recommended than insisting on fulfilling the oath for fear of sin. It is even more sinful to insist on upholding the oath that causes harm.<br>
Note:<br>
The word “family” used in the last Hadith refers to what is more common and more significant. Yet, the ruling applies to oaths regarding one’s family as well as others.