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Qur'an 5:89

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Qur'an 5:89
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Ma'ida (Qur'an 5)
Verse89
Juz'7
Page122
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Regarding the oath of Imam Ali (a), Bilal al-Habashi, and Uthman b. Maz'un in abandoning worldly pleasures
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicJurisprudential
AboutExpiation for breaking an oath


Qur'an 5:89, known as the Verse of Breaking an Oath, is the 89th verse of Qur'an 5, which explains the expiation for breaking an oath and the conditions for its realization. Freeing a slave, or feeding or clothing ten poor people are the expiations determined for breaking an oath, any of which the person can choose to perform. In case of inability to perform any of these, one must fast for three consecutive days.

The Qur'an 5:89 was revealed regarding Imam Ali (a), Bilal al-Habashi, and 'Uthman b. Maz'un who had sworn to abandon worldly pleasures and were forbidden from this by Prophet Muhammad (s).

Jurists consider intention and will as the criterion and condition for the penalty of breaking an oath and believe that oaths uttered without intention and will do not entail expiation.

Introduction, Text, and Translation

The Verse of Breaking an oath is the 89th verse of Qur'an 5. This verse explains the expiation for breaking oaths taken to forbid a lawful thing for oneself and otherwise. The conditions for the realization of an oath were also revealed in this verse. According to this verse, anyone who breaks their oath must either free a slave, feed ten poor people, or provide clothes for them, and if they are unable to perform these expiations, they must fast for three consecutive days.[1]

Cause of Revelation

Ibn Abi 'Umayr, one of the Ashab al-Ijma', narrates from Imam al-Sadiq (a) in the third/ninth century that this verse was revealed regarding Imam Ali (a), Bilal al-Habashi, and 'Uthman b. Maz'un. Imam Ali (a) had sworn never to sleep at night and to engage in worship. Bilal had sworn to fast every day, and 'Uthman b. Maz'un had sworn not to have intercourse with his wife. It is said that the oath narrated from 'Uthman b. Maz'un was illegitimate because it conflicted with his wife's rights. However, Imam Ali's oath to stay awake at night for worship was a permissible act and did not contradict his infallibility, similar to the Prophet (s) in the Qur'an 66:1.[2] 'Uthman b. Maz'un's wife informed Aisha of this matter, and she reported it to the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) appeared in the Mosque among the Muslims and said: "Be aware that I never order you to renounce the world like Christian priests and monks; the Monasticism of my Umma is in Jihad. Do not be hard on yourselves; for it causes the destruction of the Umma." Those who had sworn oaths asked the Prophet (s) for a solution, upon which the Verse of Breaking an oath was revealed, answering them.[3]

Jurisprudential Applications

Main article: Expiation of Breaking an Oath

Jurists have relied on the Qur'an 5:89 to deduce some jurisprudential rulings on oaths.

No Expiation for Inadvertent Oaths

According to al-Shaykh al-Mufid,[4] al-Shaykh al-Tusi,[5] Ibn Idris,[6] Ibn Zuhra,[7] Qutb al-Rawandi,[8] and Shahid al-Thani,[9] the condition for the validity of an oath is intention and will, not the necessity of expiation; because expiation follows the validity of the oath and is the result of violating it.[10] Thus, breaking or not fulfilling an oath entails expiation.[11] However, there is no expiation for inadvertent oaths (oaths uttered without heartfelt intention, will, and commitment, out of habit, or in a state of anger or compulsion).[12]

Invalidity of Oath to Commit Sin

According to Ibn Shahrashub, a Shi'a hadith scholar of the 6th/12th century, and Qutb al-Rawandi, a student of al-Shaykh al-Tabrisi, the phrase "and keep your oaths" implies that an oath to commit a sin is not valid. So if someone swears by God to do a forbidden act or abandon a duty, their oath is not valid and has no expiation.[13] Sayyid Murtada, an Imami jurist and theologian (d. 436/1044), considered this ruling specific to Imami jurisprudence, while other sects consider such an oath valid and its violation requiring expiation.[14] Shaykh al-Mufid, an Imami jurist of the forth/tenth century and early fifth/eleventh century, believes that if someone swears such an oath, they have only committed a sin and there is no expiation for it.[15]

Criteria for Feeding and Clothing the Poor

According to jurists, the phrase "feed ten needy persons with the average of what you feed your own families, or to clothe them" establishes "ten people" as the criterion for the ruling. Therefore, deviating from it is not permissible.[16] According to Ibn Shahrashub,[17] al-Shaykh al-Tusi, and al-Tabrisi,[18] this part of the verse implies that a woman can pay her expiation to her husband if he is poor; because God has made no distinction among the needy.

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 5, pp. 83-88.
  2. ↑ Amāmī, Shaʾn-i nuzūl-i āyāt-i Qurʾān, p. 205.
  3. ↑ Qumī, Tafsīr al-Qumī, vol. 1, p. 178.
  4. ↑ Mufīd, al-Muqniʿa, p. 555.
  5. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 6, p. 124.
  6. ↑ Ibn Idrīs al-Ḥillī, al-Sarāʾir, vol. 3, p. 47.
  7. ↑ Ibn Zuhra, Ghunya al-nuzūʿ, p. 391.
  8. ↑ Quṭb al-Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 223.
  9. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, vol. 11, p. 192.
  10. ↑ Ibn Idrīs al-Ḥillī, al-Sarāʾir, vol. 3, p. 47.
  11. ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 119; Shahīd al-Thānī, al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, vol. 3, p. 56.
  12. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Mutashābih al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 202.
  13. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Mutashābih al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 202; Quṭb al-Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 238.
  14. ↑ Sayyid Murtaḍā, al-Intiṣār, p. 351.
  15. ↑ Mufīd, al-Muqniʿa, p. 554.
  16. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Mutashābih al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 206; ʿAllāma Ḥillī, Qawāʿid al-aḥkām, vol. 3, p. 304.
  17. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Mutashābih al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 206.
  18. ↑ Ṭabrasī, al-Muʾtalif min al-mukhtalif, vol. 2, p. 243.

References

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