Issue No. 2298- Acting upon a covenant is obligatory as it is in the case of a vow, provided that the formula for it is pronounced. For example, one should say, “I make a covenant with Allah that I will perform that certain good act”. However, if one does not pronounce the formula or if that act is not desirable from the Islamic point of view, his covenant is not valid.
Issue No. 2299- If a person does not act according to the covenant made by him as per the above-mentioned conditions, he should offer kaffāra for it. The kaffāra for breaking a covenant is similar to the kaffāra for a vow, i.e., one should either feed sixty indigent persons or fast consecutively for two months (thirty-one fasts should be observed consecutively), or set a slave free. One is able to choose between either of the first two options, acknowledging that slaves no longer exist.
Issue No. 2300- If a person takes an oath with the following conditions, he should act upon it, or else, he will be liable to kaffāra (atonement):1- A person who takes an oath should be mature and sane, and in case he takes an oath in respect to his property, he should neither be mentally incompetent, nor should have been prevented by the Islamic judge from making use of his property. One should take the oath with his own volition. Hence, an oath by a minor, an insane person or by a person forced to take an oath will not valid. Similarly, if one takes an oath in a state of anger involuntarily, the oath will be void.2- The act which one takes an oath to do should not be haram or makrūh, and the act for which a person takes an oath to abandon should not be obligatory or recommended. Moreover, if one takes an oath to perform a mubāḥ act, its abandonment should not be better than its performance according to the common perception, or if he takes an oath to abandon a mubāḥ act, its performance should not be preferable to its abandonment according to common perception.3- The oath must be sworn by one of the names of the Almighty Allah which are either exclusively used for Him, (e.g., Allah or God), or by a name which is used for other beings also, but is used so extensively for Him, that when any person utters that name one is reminded of Him alone. In fact, if he uses other names or attributes of Allah which do not remind a person of God’s name without a context, but his intention is Allah, he should, as an obligatory precaution, act according to that oath.4- The oath should be uttered in words. In case, therefore, a person passes it in his mind, it will not be sufficient. And if he writes it down, the obligatory precaution is that he should act according to it. However, if a dumb person takes an oath by making a sign, it is in order.5- It should be possible for a person to act upon his oath. And if he is able to act upon the oath when he takes it, but becomes incapable of acting upon it later, the oath is nullified from the time he becomes incapable of acting upon it. And the same order applies if acting upon one's oath involves such hardship that it is not possible for one to bear it.
Issue No. 2301- If a father forbids his son to take an oath, or the husband forbids his wife to take an oath, their oath is not valid. Even if a son takes an oath without the permission of his father, or a wife takes an oath without the permission of her husband, their oath will not be in order.
Issue No. 2301- If a father forbids his son to take an oath, or the husband forbids his wife to take an oath, their oath is not valid. Even if a son takes an oath without the permission of his father, or a wife takes an oath without the permission of her husband, their oath will not be in order.
Issue No. 2302- If a person does not act upon his oath intentionally, he should give kaffāra for it, which means he should feed ten indigent persons to their fill or should provide them with clothes, or should set a slave free (One is able to choose between either of the two first options, acknowledging that slaves no longer exist). And if he is not able to perform these acts, he should fast for three days.
Issue No. 2303- If a person does not act upon his oath on account of forgetfulness, helplessness or is forced not to act upon his oath, he is not liable for kaffāra. And if an obsessive person takes an oath like, if he says,” By Allah, I am going to offer prayers now,” and then does not offer prayers owing to the whims haunting him, which renders him incapable of acting according to the oath, and if his obsession is in such a way that he does not act according to his oath involuntarily, it is not necessary for him to give kaffāra.
Issue No. 2303- If a person does not act upon his oath on account of forgetfulness, helplessness or is forced not to act upon his oath, he is not liable for kaffāra. And if an obsessive person takes an oath like, if he says,” By Allah, I am going to offer prayers now,” and then does not offer prayers owing to the whims haunting him, which renders him incapable of acting according to the oath, and if his obsession is in such a way that he does not act according to his oath involuntarily, it is not necessary for him to give kaffāra.
Issue No. 2304- If a person swears that he is telling the truth, such an oath is disliked if what he says is true, and if it is a lie it is haram and of the major sins. However, if he is forced to swear in order to save himself or another Muslim from the mischief of an oppressor, there is no harm in it, and in fact, at times it becomes obligatory. This sort of oath which is meant to prove something is quite different from the oath which was discussed earlier and which was for the performance or abandonment of an act.
Issue No. 2304- If a person swears that he is telling the truth, such an oath is disliked if what he says is true, and if it is a lie it is haram and of the major sins. However, if he is forced to swear in order to save himself or another Muslim from the mischief of an oppressor, there is no harm in it, and in fact, at times it becomes obligatory. This sort of oath which is meant to prove something is quite different from the oath which was discussed earlier and which was for the performance or abandonment of an act.
Issue No. 2305- If a person makes something as a waqf, it ceases to be his property; neither he nor anybody else can gift or sell it to any person. Also, no one can inherit anything out of it. However, its selling, in certain circumstances, as mentioned in rule No. 1786, is permissible.
Issue No. 2306- The formula for endowment (waqf) can be uttered in Arabic or any language, for example, if a person says, “I have endowed my house for a certain purpose”, that will be sufficient and formal acceptance is not required, irrespective of whether it is for the public or for a particular group of people. However, the recommended precaution is that in the endowment for the general public, the Mujtahid or his representative, and in the endowment for a particular group of people, the people for whom the endowment has been made, utter the formula of acceptance.
