Hadith 3470

(3) The statement: “Whoever swears an oath, etc.”: Meaning whoever connects “If Allah wills” with his oath, it is nullified. This excludes when he says “If Allah wills” after his oath, disconnected, as it does not nullify his oath, because the exception only applies when connected, not disconnected. [Taken from the commentary on “Al-Wiqayah” and “Umdat ar-Ri’ayah”] If you say: The hadith in its generality does not distinguish between connected and disconnected. I say: The evidence from texts and others regarding the obligation of contracts necessitates connection, as permitting a disconnected exception would lead to nullifying all contracts, such as sales, marriages, and others, and the corruption in that is evident, as stated by Ayni. Sadr ash-Shari’ah mentioned in the evidence for prohibiting delay: The hadith “Let him expiate his oath” obligated expiation, so if a delayed exception were permissible, expiation would not be obligatory in any oath, as he could say delayed: “If Allah wills,” nullifying his oath. [From “At-Ta’liq al-Mumajjad”] This is also supported by the report of Bayhaqi and Darqutni mentioned in the book. In “Umdat al-Qari,” it is stated: The exception here refers to the phrase “If Allah wills,” not the technical exception, such as: “By Allah, I will do such and such, if Allah wills,” or he said: “By Allah, I will do such and such,” then “If Allah wills.” There is disagreement among the scholars. Ibrahim, Hasan, Thawri, Abu Hanifah, his companions, Awza’i, Layth, and the majority of scholars said: Its condition is that it is connected to the oath. Shafi’i said: The exception must be connected to the initial speech, meaning without separation, in a coherent manner. If there is a pause, it is disconnected, unless it is for recollection, breathing, or inability to speak, explaining his intent, or a break in voice. They also disagreed about the exception in divorce and emancipation. Ibn Abi Layla, Awza’i, Layth, and Malik said: The exception is not permissible, and it is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Musayyib. Tawus, Nakha’i, Hasan, Ata in a narration, Abu Hanifah, his companions, Shafi’i, his companions, and Ishaq said: The exception is permissible. In “Al-Bahr,” it is stated: The apparent statement of the author of “Al-Kanz”: If he connects “If Allah wills” with his oath, he is free, meaning the oath is binding but there is no breaking upon him due to the inability to know Allah’s will, the Exalted. This is the view of Abu Yusuf (may Allah be pleased with him). According to Abu Hanifah and Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with them), attaching to the will nullifies it. Thus, it is stated in “At-Tabyin”: He meant by “free” the lack of binding, as it entails no breaking, like being free, so he used it absolutely. The essence of the jurists’ statements is that everything attached to speech, the connected will nullifies it, whether worship or transaction, unlike what is attached to the heart, like intention.