Accepting or rejecting oaths


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Q: I was living with my family in a home in a small village in Abha. One night, my friend told me that all the people of the village, except us, bought housing lands in a region near the village. On Thursday night we went on the spot and chose a land adjacent to a villager called Sa`d. On Friday morning, Sa`d brought someone to cultivate his land which is separated from mine by a street. At 9:30 am, I came to find that the man had already expropriated the whole land and enclosed it. I got into an argument with him concerning the reason why he took hold of my land. He claimed that there was no mark to indicate my land and that all the land belonged to him. I asked him to swear that there was no mark and that the whole land was his and in return I would give it up to him. He agreed to that and swore by Allah on what he said. Unfortunately, I (Part No. 23; Page No. 52) was not convinced and got into a dispute with him until another villager reconciled us by dividing the land. Sa`d agreed, though he had sworn beforehand by Allah that I own nothing of the land. I ask about the ruling on the fact that I made him swear, then I did not accept his oath. Guide me, may Allah reward you with the best!


A: If the case is as you have mentioned that the reconciliation took place between you by mutual consent, there will be no harm on you, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, reconciliation between Muslims is permissible except reconciliation that makes the lawful unlawful or the unlawful lawful. The villager is to be blamed and is sinful if the oath he made was false.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.




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