Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:225
Allah does not impose blame upon you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He imposes blame upon you for what your hearts have earned. And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:225)
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words (al-laghw) in your oaths
The exegetes differed concerning the explanation of His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words (al-laghw) in your oaths , and concerning the meaning of al-laghw. Some said about its meaning: Allah will not call you to account for that which your tongues have hastily and rashly uttered of oaths, such that He would impose upon you an expiation (kaffāra) thereby, when you did not intend to swear or to make an oath. That is like the word of one who says: "He did this, by Allah," or "I do it, by Allah," or "I do not do it, by Allah," where the speaker utters this with his tongue as something he has tied to his speech in the form of an oath.
Mention of who said that:
3499 - Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn al-Shahīd related to me, saying: ʿAttāb ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is "yes indeed, by Allah" and "no, by Allah."
3500 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of al-Qāsim, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, something similar.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, he said: I asked ʿĀʾisha about the idle oath, she said: It is "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," that which people exchange with one another in conversation.
* - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ and ʿAbda and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha concerning Allah's word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," with which he connects his speech.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām ibn Salm related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I entered together with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr upon ʿĀʾisha, and he said to her: O Mother of the Believers, His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: It is "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," it does not belong to that with which you have ratified the oaths.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Laylā informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I came to ʿĀʾisha together with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, and ʿUbayd asked her about His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , and ʿĀʾisha said: It is the word of the man: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," so long as his heart has not fixed it firmly.
* - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I set out with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr to ʿĀʾisha, while she was in seclusion at Thabīr, and ʿUbayd asked her about the idle oath, she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
3501 - Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḥarsī related to us, saying: Ḥassān ibn Ibrāhīm al-Kirmānī related to us, saying: Ibrāhīm al-Ṣāʾigh related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: ʿĀʾisha said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "It is the word of the man in his house: 'no, by Allah' and 'yes indeed, by Allah.'"
3502 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: It is the people who dispute with one another over a matter, and one says: "no, by Allah," and "yes indeed, by Allah," and "no, by Allah"; they dispute over the matter while their hearts do not fix it firmly.
3503 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: The word of the man: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," with which he connects his speech; for that there is no expiation.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-Mughīra informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: It is the man who says: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," with which he connects his conversation.
* - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: I asked ʿĀmir about His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, both on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, the like of it.
3504 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm and Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, both saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb related to us, saying: Abū Qilāba said concerning "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah": I hope that it is an [idiomatic] expression (lugha). Yaʿqūb said in his narration: I hope that it is laghw. And Ibn Wakīʿ said in his narration: I hope that it is an [idiomatic] expression, and he did not doubt.
3505 - Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ and Hannād related to us, they said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, he said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Mālik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I heard ʿĀʾisha saying about His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Mālik ibn Mighwal, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, the like of it.
3506 - Hannād related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, on the authority of ʿIkrima concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the word of the people: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
3507 - Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī and ʿIkrima, both saying: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I entered together with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr upon ʿĀʾisha, and he asked her, and she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā and Ashʿath, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father and Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, she said: "No, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah."
* - Ibn Wakīʿ and Hannād related to us, both saying: Yaʿlā related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: ʿĀʾisha said concerning Allah's word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , she said: It is your word: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," in which there is no ratification of the oaths.
* - Hannād related to us, both saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī; he said: al-laghw is the word of the man: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," with which he connects his speech, so long as he does not doubt about something upon which his heart fixes it firmly.
* - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAmr informed me that Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl related to him that he heard ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ saying: I heard ʿĀʾisha saying: The idle oath is the word of the man: "no, by Allah" and "yes indeed, by Allah," concerning that upon which his heart has not fixed it firmly.
* - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAmr said: and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥusayn al-Nawfalī related to me, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that.
3508 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the two men who trade with one another; one says: "By Allah, I will not sell it to you for such and such," and the other says: "By Allah, I will not buy it for such and such"; this is al-laghw, for which one is not called to account.
Others said: Rather, the idle oath (al-laghw) in oaths is the oath which the swearer makes while he supposes that it is as he swears, and then it turns out otherwise, namely contrary to that upon which he swore.
Mention of who said that:
3509 - Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Nāfiʿ informed me, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Qays, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, that he used to say: The idle oath is that a person swears about something, supposing it to be that upon which he swears, and then it turns out otherwise.
3510 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , and al-laghw is that the man swears about something he holds to be true, but which is not the truth.
3511 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , this concerns the man who swears to do something harmful and then does not do it, because he sees something better than that; Allah then commanded him to make the expiation for his oath and to do that which is better. Also belonging to al-laghw is: that the man swears about a matter in which he does not fail to seek the truth, but has erred in his oath; this is the one upon whom the expiation rests, but upon him there is no sin.
3512 - Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Hishām related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Yasār concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: An error, not deliberate.
3513 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning this verse: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is that you swear about something while it appears to you that it is as you swore, but it is not so; for that Allah does not call him to account and there is no expiation; but the accounting and the expiation are for that which he has sworn knowingly.
* - Hannād and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, both saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Faḍl ibn Dalham, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: It is the man who makes the oath and supposes nothing other than that it is as he swore.
* - Sufyān related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who makes the oath supposing that it is so, but it is not so.
* - Hannād related to us, saying: ʿAbda related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears about something supposing that it is so, and then it is not as he said; upon him there is no expiation.
3514 - Hannād and Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān; and al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who makes the oath and supposes nothing other than that it is as he swore about it, but it is not so.
3515 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ concerning Allah's word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: Whoever swears by Allah and knows nothing other than that he is truthful in that upon which he swore.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths : the man's swearing about something while he knows nothing other than that it is as he swore about it, and then it is not as he swore, as his saying: "This house is indeed so-and-so's," while it is not his, and "This garment is indeed so-and-so's," while it is not his.
3516 - Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears about something supposing that he is truthful therein.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears about the matter supposing that it is as he swore about it, and then it is not so; he said: for that he is not called to account; he said: and he liked that one make the expiation.
* - Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī related to us, saying: al-Juʿfī related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of Manṣūr, he said: Ibrāhīm said: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: That he swears about something supposing that he is truthful, while he lies; that is al-laghw, for which one is not called to account.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, something similar, except that he said: When you swear about something supposing that you are truthful, and it is not so.
3517 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Idrīs related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, that he said: al-laghw: the man who makes the oaths supposing that it is as he swore.
3518 - Isḥāq ibn Ḥabīb ibn al-Shahīd related to me, saying: ʿAttāb ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of Ziyād, he said: It is the one who makes the oath supposing that he is truthful therein.
3519 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Ḥaḍramī related to us, saying: Bukayr ibn Abī al-Sumayṭ related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the error without intent; the man who swears about something supposing that it is so, while it is not so.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr and Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: al-laghw: the man who swears about something supposing that it is so; upon him there is no expiation therein.
3520 - Hannād and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us; Hannād said: Wakīʿ related to us, and Ibn Wakīʿ said: my father related to me, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, he said: I heard Zurāra ibn Awfā saying: It is the man who makes the oath and supposes nothing other than that it is as he swore.
3521 - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿĀmir was asked about this verse: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: al-laghw: that the man swears without failing to seek the truth, and then it is otherwise; that is al-laghw for which one is not called to account.
* - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , and al-laghw: the erroneous oath without intent, that you swear about something supposing that it is as you swore about it, and then it is not so; upon this there is no expiation and no sin.
3522 - Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths : as for al-laghw: the man who makes the oath supposing that it is so, and then it is not so; upon him there is no expiation.
3523 - It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: al-laghw: the erroneous oath without intent, that he swears about something supposing that it is as he swore about it; and this is that for which there rests upon him no expiation.
* - Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik, he said: as for the oath for which the swearer is not called to account: the man who makes the oath supposing that he is truthful therein; that is al-laghw.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us on the authority of Abū Mālik, the like of it, except that he said: The man who swears about the matter supposing that it is as he swore about it, and then it is not so; upon him there is no expiation therein, and that is al-laghw.
3524 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ informed me, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, and on the authority of Ibn Abī Ṭalḥa — thus said Ibn Abī Jaʿfar — both saying: Whoever says: "By Allah, I have done such and such," while he supposes that he has done it, and then it turns out that he has not done it, that is the idle oath, and upon him there is no expiation for it.
* - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the error without intent, like the word of the man: "By Allah, this is indeed such and such," while he supposes that he is truthful, and then it is not so. Maʿmar said: and Qatāda said it too.
3525 - Ibn al-Barqī related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Saʿīd was asked about al-laghw in the oath; Saʿīd said, and Makḥūl said: The error without intent, but the expiation is for that upon which your hearts have fixed it firmly.
3526 - Ibn al-Barqī related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, on the authority of Makḥūl, that he said: al-laghw for which Allah does not call to account: that the man swears about something supposing that he is truthful therein, and then it turns out otherwise; upon him there is no expiation for it, and Allah has forgiven it to him.
3527 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: When he makes the oath supposing that he is truthful therein, while he lies, then he is not called to account for it; and when he makes the oath while he knows that he lies, then that is what he is called to account for.
Others said: Rather, the idle oath (al-laghw) among oaths is the one which the swearer makes in a state of anger, without fixing of the heart and without firm resolve, but merely as a connection of speech.
Mention of who said that:
3528 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Khālid, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Wasīm, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: The idle oath: that you swear while you are angry.
3529 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Abū Ḥamza related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, he said: Every oath that a man makes while he is angry, upon him there is no expiation for it; His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths .
And the proof of the one who held this statement is what:
3530 - Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr al-Marwazī related to me, saying: ʿUmar ibn Yūnus al-Yamānī related to us, saying: Sulaymān ibn Abī Sulaymān al-Zuhrī related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "There is no oath in anger."
Others said: Rather, the idle oath (al-laghw) in the oath is: swearing to do that which Allah has forbidden, and to leave that which Allah has commanded to be done.
Mention of who said that:
3531 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: It is the one who swears to commit a disobedience (maʿṣiya), and then does not carry it out but makes expiation for his oath; His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths .
* - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī al-Shawārib related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: The idle oath is that the man swears to commit a disobedience against Allah; Allah does not call him to account for leaving it undone.
* - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, something similar, and he added to it: he said: and upon him there is an expiation.
* - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā and Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to me, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of Saʿīd, something similar.
* - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears to commit a disobedience; Allah does not call him to account for making expiation for his oath and doing that which is better.
* - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning this verse: Allah calls you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: The man who swears to commit a disobedience; Allah does not call him to account for leaving it undone.
3532 - Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ al-Bazzār related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā the daughter's son of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, he said: Khālid ibn Ilyās related to us, on the authority of the mother of his father: that she had sworn that she would not speak with the daughter of her son, the daughter of Abū al-Jahm, and she went to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab and Abū Bakr and ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, and they said: There is no oath in a disobedience, and upon her there is no expiation.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears to commit a disobedience; Allah does not call him to account for leaving it undone, if he leaves it. I said: Then how does he act? He said: He makes expiation for his oath and leaves the disobedience undone.
* - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the man who swears to do something forbidden; Allah does not call him to account for leaving it undone.
* - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Dāwūd informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said concerning the idle oath: It is the oath in a disobedience; he said: Do you not read it, that you might understand it? Allah has said: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths, but He will call you to account for that with which you have ratified the oaths (5:89). He said: He then does not call him to account so as to make him fulfill it, but He calls him to account so as to persist in it. He said: and He said: Do not make Allah an object of your oaths... up to His word: and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing .
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Hushaym, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: The man who swears to commit a disobedience; Allah does not call him to account for leaving it undone, and he makes expiation.
3533 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Masrūq: concerning the man who swears to commit a disobedience, and he said: Does he then make expiation for the steps of Satan? Upon him there is no expiation.
3534 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, the like of it.
3535 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: concerning the man who swears to commit a disobedience, he said: The expiation for it is that he shows repentance for it.
* - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, that he used to say: He leaves the disobedience undone and does not make expiation; and if I were to command him the expiation, I would command him to persist in his word.
3536 - Yaḥyā ibn Dāwūd al-Wāsiṭī related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Mujālid, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: Every oath which it is not permitted for you to fulfill, in it there is no expiation.
And the proof of the one who held this statement from the narration is what:
3537 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of al-Walīd ibn Kathīr, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith related to me, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever makes a vow concerning something he does not possess, for him there is no vow; and whoever swears to commit a disobedience against Allah, for him there is no oath; and whoever swears to sever the ties of kinship, for him there is no oath."
3538 - ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd al-Kindī related to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn Mushir related to us, on the authority of Ḥāritha ibn Muḥammad, on the authority of ʿAmra, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, she said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever makes an oath to sever the ties of kinship or to commit a disobedience against Allah, his piety consists in that he breaks his oath and turns back from his oath."
Others said: The idle oath (al-laghw) among oaths is: every oath with which the man connects his speech without intending to make it binding upon himself.
Mention of who said that:
3539 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Hishām related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: The idle oath: that the man connects his speech with the swearing — "by Allah, he shall surely eat," "by Allah, he shall surely drink" and the like — without intending to swear and without wishing to make an oath; upon him there is no expiation.
* - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Hishām al-Dastuwāʾī, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: The idle oath: that with which he connects his speech: "by Allah, you shall surely eat," "by Allah, you shall surely drink."
3540 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is the two men who negotiate over something; one says: "By Allah, I will not buy it from you for such and such," and the other says: "By Allah, I will not sell it to you for such and such."
3541 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yūnus informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, that ʿUrwa related to him that ʿĀʾisha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: The idle oaths are that which occurs in jest, dispute, quarrel, and the conversation upon which the heart does not rely.
And the proof of the one who held this statement from the narration is what:
3542 - Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḥarsī related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Maymūn al-Murādī related to us, saying: ʿAwf al-Aʿrābī related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ḥasan, he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a group who were competing in shooting — that is: shooting arrows — and with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was a man of his companions; a man of the group shot and said: "I have hit the mark, by Allah, and I have missed!" Then the one who was with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: The man has broken his oath, O Messenger of Allah! He said: "Not at all; the oaths of the archers are idle (laghw), in them there is no expiation and no punishment."
Others said: The idle oath (al-laghw) among oaths is: that which is an oath in the sense of a curse by the swearer against himself if he does not do such and such, or in the sense of shirk and kufr.
Mention of who said that:
3543 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Qāsim al-Miṣrī related to me, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Marzūq related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam concerning Allah's word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: It is like the word of the man: "May Allah blind my sight if I do not do such and such," "may Allah expel me from my property if I do not come to you tomorrow." So it is, and Allah does not make him lose property or offspring. He says: if Allah were to call you to account for this, He would leave you nothing.
* - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb related to me, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, the like of it.
3544 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Marzūq related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb related to me that Zayd ibn Aslam used to say concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths : like the word of the man: "He is an unbeliever (kāfir)" and "he is a polytheist (mushrik)"; he said: Allah does not call him to account until that comes out of his heart.
3545 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: al-laghw herein: the swearing by Allah that occurs only with the tongues, and that He has declared idle; and that is that he says: "He is an unbeliever, by Allah," while he then ascribes partners to Allah (shirk), and "he calls upon a god besides Allah." That is al-laghw concerning which Allah has spoken in Surat al-Baqarah.
Others said: The idle oath (al-laghw) in oaths is that in which there is an expiation.
Mention of who said that:
3546 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths : this concerns the man who swears to do something harmful and then does not do it, because he sees something better than that; Allah then commanded him to make expiation for his oath and to do that which is better.
3547 - Yaḥyā ibn Jaʿfar related to me, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: The oath for which expiation is made.
Others said: The idle oath (al-laghw) among oaths is: that in which the swearer breaks his oath out of forgetfulness.
Mention of who said that:
3548 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Hushaym informed us, saying: Mughīra informed me, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: It is the man who swears about something and then forgets it; namely concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths .
Abū Jaʿfar said: al-laghw in speech is, in the usage of the Arabs, every speech that is blameworthy and every action that has no meaning and is rejected. One says of this: laghā fulān fī kalāmihi yalghū laghwan, when he says something ugly in speech; and of this is the word of Allah, exalted be His remembrance: And when they hear idle talk, they turn away from it (28:55), and His word: And when they pass by idle talk, they pass it by with dignity (25:72). It has been heard from the Arabs: laghaytu bi-smi fulān, in the sense of: I became infatuated with naming him in an ugly way. Whoever says laghaytu says alghā laghan, and that is the language of a part of the Arabs; and of this is the word of the rajaz poet:
Wa-rubba asrābi ḥajījin kuẓẓami — ʿani al-laghā wa-rafathi al-takallumi (How many throngs of pilgrims, persisting in silence, free of idle talk and of indecent speech.)
If al-laghw is as I have described, and the man who swears by Allah "I have not done such and such" while he has indeed done it, or "I have surely done such and such" while he has not done it, connecting this with his speech in the manner in which his tongue has preceded him, without intending to commit sin in his oath but merely out of a habit he has in the haste of speech; and he who says: "By Allah, this is indeed so-and-so's," while he holds it to be as he said, or "by Allah, this is not so-and-so's," while he holds it to be that it is not so; and he who says: "He shall surely do such and such, by Allah," or "he does not do such and such, by Allah," in the manner we have described of the haste of speech and the tongue's preceding out of habit, without intending to swear falsely; and he who says: "He is a polytheist," or "he is a Jew," or "a Christian, if I do not do such and such," or "if I do such and such," without firm resolve toward kufr, or "a Jewess" or "a Christian woman" — they all speak reprehensible speech and blameworthy utterance, and they swear with their tongues oaths in which their hearts did not intend sin. Then it is known that they engage in idle talk in their oaths; upon them there is no expiation in the near (world), nor punishment in the hereafter, because of Allah's report, exalted be His remembrance, that He does not call His servants to account for the idle words in their oaths, and that that for which He calls them to account is that in which their hearts have intentionally aimed at sin.
And if that is so, and it has been authentically narrated from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: "Whoever makes an oath and then sees something better than it, let him do what is better and make expiation for his oath" — by which he made the expiation obligatory through the swearer's doing that which he swore he would not do, together with the obligation to do that which is better than that which he swore he would not do — and since the monetary penalty, or the imposing of a requital upon the one who requites as a substitute offering of the requiters, is without doubt a punishment like some of the punishments which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has set as a deterrent example for His creatures for that in which they have transgressed His limits — even though all these punishments share in that they are a purification and expiation for whoever is punished by them for that for which they were punished — then it is clear that whoever is imposed the expiation in the near (world) of his earthly life for that concerning which he swore oaths and broke them, even though it is an expiation for his sin, Allah has nonetheless called him to account for it by imposing the expiation upon him for it, even though that which has been brought forward of his punishment for it annuls his punishment in the hereafter.
And since He, exalted be His remembrance, has called him to account for it, it is not permissible for any speaker to say: and He has called him to account for it while it belongs to the idle talk for which the speaker is not called to account. And since that is not permissible, thereby the incorrectness becomes clear of the statement narrated from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, that he said: al-laghw: swearing to commit a disobedience. For if that were so, there would be upon the swearer who swears to commit a disobedience against Allah no expiation upon breaking his oath; and in Saʿīd's imposing the expiation upon him is a clear proof that the owner of it is called to account for it, because of what we have described: that whoever is imposed the expiation for his oath does not belong to those who are not called to account for it.
If al-laghw is that which we have described — concerning which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has informed us that He does not call us to account for it — and every oath that rests upon its owner with the expiation in the near (world) upon breaking it, or for which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has announced to its owner punishment in the hereafter — even though He has remitted to him the expiation for it in the near (world) — then that belongs to that which the hearts of the swearers have acquired and in which the souls of the oath-makers have intentionally aimed at sin; and what falls outside that is al-laghw, whose forms we have already set forth.
The explanation of the words is then: Do not make Allah, O believers, an object of your oaths and an excuse for yourselves in your swearing that you will not be benevolent, nor God-fearing, nor bring about reconciliation between people; for Allah does not call you to account for that which your tongues have uttered of idle talk in your oaths — what they have uttered of ugly and blameworthy oaths — without your having intentionally aimed at sin and without your having been directed, with the firm resolves of your hearts, toward making binding the oaths you have sworn. But He only calls you to account for that in which you have intentionally established the oath and made it binding upon yourselves, and which you have resolved to persist in upon that which you have sworn, with intent and will on your part; then there rests upon you at that moment either an expiation in the near (world), or punishment in the hereafter.
but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired
The exegetes differed concerning the meaning by which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, announced to His servants in His word: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired that He will call them to account for it — after they all agreed that the meaning of His word: for that which your hearts have acquired is: that which occurs intentionally. Some said: The meaning by which Allah announced to His servants that He would call them to account is the swearing of the swearer among them about a lie and falsehood.
Mention of who said that:
3549 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: When the man makes the oath supposing that he is truthful while he lies, he is not called to account for it; and when he swears while he knows that he lies, then that is what he is called to account for.
* - Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī related to me, saying: Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī related to us on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of Manṣūr, he said: Ibrāhīm said: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired , he said: That he swears about something while he knows that he lies; that is what he is called to account for.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired : that you swear while you lie.
3550 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: but He will call you to account for that with which you have ratified the oaths (5:89), and that is the deliberate false oath (al-yamīn al-ṣabr al-kādhiba), with which the man swears to bring about injustice or the severing of the ties of kinship. For that there is no expiation other than that he leave that injustice undone, or that he return that property to its rightful owners; and that is His word, exalted be His remembrance: Indeed, those who sell the covenant with Allah and their oaths for a small price up to His word: and for them there is a painful punishment (3:77).
3551 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired : that upon which it has fixed itself firmly.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
3552 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: You are not called to account until you aim at the matter and then swear about it by Allah, besides whom there is no god, and you fix your oath upon it.
The necessary consequence of this interpretation is that His word, exalted be His remembrance: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired occurs in the hereafter, with the punishments that He wills, and that the expiation rests only upon the swearer in the oaths that are idle (laghw). Thus it is narrated from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he deemed the expiation necessary only in the oaths that are idle. But as for what the hearts have acquired and upon which they have fixed themselves firmly with sin, therein he did not deem the expiation obligatory. We have already mentioned the narration from them about that earlier. And since that is their interpretation of the verse, the necessary consequence according to their school is that the meaning of the verse in Surat al-Māʾida: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , and the expiation for it is the feeding of ten needy persons with the average of that with which you feed your families, or the clothing of them, or the freeing of a slave (taḥrīr raqaba); and whoever cannot find (the means), then the fasting of three days, that is the expiation of your oaths when you have sworn, but He calls you to account for that with which you have ratified the oaths, and guard your oaths.
And as that which we have mentioned from Ibn ʿAbbās concerning that statement, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim and a group of others said, and we have just mentioned the narration from them about that.
Others said: The meaning by which Allah, the Exalted, announced to His servants the accounting with this verse is the swearing of the swearer about a falsehood which he knows to be a falsehood; and through that Allah made the expiation obligatory according to them, and not for the idle talk by which the swearer swears while he errs in his oath, supposing that that upon which he has sworn is as he swore, while it is not so.
Mention of who said that:
3553 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired , he says: for that which your hearts have intentionally aimed at, and in which you have intentionally aimed at sin; for that there rests upon you the expiation.
3554 - It was related to us on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, exactly the like of it.
It is as if the adherents of this statement directed the interpretation of Allah's accounting of His servant for that which his heart has acquired of sinful oaths toward the notion that it is an accounting from Him by imposing upon him the expiation for it. And in agreement with the statement of Qatāda, a group of others spoke of the obligation of the expiation upon the swearer of the sinful oath, among them ʿAṭāʾ and al-Ḥakam.
3555 - Abū Kurayb and Yaʿqūb related to us, both saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ and al-Ḥakam: that they both said concerning whoever swears falsely intentionally: he makes expiation.
Others said: Rather, they are two meanings: one is that the servant is called to account for it in the worldly life through Allah's imposing upon him the expiation for it, and the other of them is that he is called to account for it in the hereafter, unless He forgives.
Mention of who said that:
3556 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired : as for that which your hearts have acquired — that is that upon which your hearts have fixed themselves firmly — namely the man who makes the oath knowing that it is false, with the intention of fulfilling his purpose. The oaths are three: the idle (al-laghw), the deliberate (al-ʿamd), and the sin-engulfing perjury (al-ghamūs); and the man who makes the oath while he wishes to do something and then sees something better than that — that is the oath concerning which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, said: but He will call you to account for that with which you have ratified the oaths (5:89); for that there is an expiation.
It is as if the adherent of this statement directed the interpretation of His word: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired toward something other than that toward which he directed the interpretation of His word: but He will call you to account for that with which you have ratified the oaths (5:89); and he made of His word: for that which your hearts have acquired the sin-engulfing perjury (al-ghamūs) among oaths, which the swearer makes in the knowledge that he is committing falsehood in his oath thereby, and of His word: for that with which you have ratified the oaths (5:89) the oath in which he begins the breaking or the fulfilling in the future, while he is at the time of swearing it resolved to fulfill it.
Others said: Rather, that is the harboring in the heart of shirk against Allah and kufr.
Mention of who said that:
3557 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to me, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Marzūq related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb related to me, on the authority of Muḥammad — namely Ibn ʿAjlān — that Yazīd ibn Aslam used to say concerning Allah's word, exalted be His remembrance: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired : like the word of the man: "He is an unbeliever," "he is a polytheist"; he said: Allah does not call him to account until that comes out of his heart.
3558 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: Allah will not call you to account for the idle words in your oaths , he said: al-laghw herein: the swearing by Allah that occurs only with the tongues, and that He has declared idle; and that is that he says: "He is an unbeliever, by Allah," while he then ascribes partners to Allah, and "he calls upon a god besides Allah." That is al-laghw concerning which Allah, the Exalted, has spoken in Surat al-Baqarah: but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have acquired , he said: for that which was sincere (meant) in your hearts, He calls you to account for it; and if it was not sincere in your heart, He does not call you to account for it, even though you have sinned.
And the correct view of the statement concerning this is that one says: Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has announced to His servants that He will call them to account for that which their hearts have acquired of oaths; and that which their hearts acquire of oaths is that which they have aimed at and resolved upon, with knowledge and awareness on their part of that which they aim at and will. And that occurs on their part in two ways: one in the manner of the firm resolve through which the resolved matter is, at the time of its resolution, sinful for the resolver by resolving upon it, and through doing it he deserves Allah's accounting for it. That is like the swearer about something he has not done, that he has done it, and about something he has done, that he has not done it, with the intention of uttering the lie, and remembering that he has done that about which he swore that he had not done it, or that he has not done that about which he swore that he had done it. The swearer of that, if he belongs to the people of faith in Allah and in His Messenger, is left to the will of Allah on the Day of Resurrection: if He wills, He calls him to account for it in the hereafter, and if He wills, He forgives him out of His mercy; and upon him there is no expiation for it in the near (world), for it does not belong to the oaths in which one breaks the oath, and the expiation is made obligatory only in the oaths through breaking them, and the oath of the swearer who lies in his oath does not belong to that in which one begins the breaking, such that the expiation would be made obligatory in it.
And the other way of it: in the manner of the firm resolve to make the oath bindingly established at the time of his resolution upon it; that is that for which the owner of it is not called to account until he breaks it after his swearing. And when he breaks it after his swearing, he is called to account for that which his heart had acquired of swearing by Allah about a sin and a lie in the near (world), with the expiation that Allah has made an expiation for his sin.
and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing
The explanation of His word, the Exalted: and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing
He, exalted be His remembrance, means by it: and Allah is Forgiving toward His servants for that which they engage in of idle talk in their oaths, concerning which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has reported that He does not call them to account for it; and if He had willed, He would have called them to account for it. And when He called them to account for it, such that they made expiation for it in the near (world) of the worldly life through the expiation therein — and if He had willed, He would have called them to account in the far (world) of the hereafter for it with punishment — He covered them therein and treated them mildly through His pardon of the punishment therein and of others of their sins. Forbearing is He in that He refrains from hastening the punishment for their disobediences upon the people of disobedience against Him.
