Yamin (oath) means strength. It indicates strength in a statement, intention or desire to do or not to do something. Also, the words "half", "hilf", and "qasam" can be used instead of "Yamin." There are three kinds of Yamin:

1 - Ghamus oath, [which causes sin and going to Hell]. It is to swear a false, lying oath on something in the past knowingly. It is a grave sin. In order to repent, tawba and istighfar are necessary, but not kaffarat.

2 - Mun'aqida oath. It is to swear an oath to do or not to do something in future. There are three types. In all three types, breach of the oath necessitates kaffarat. But kaffarat is not paid before the breach:

A) There is no given time. If a person swears that he will beat Ahmad, the oath is not broken if he does not beat him as long as both are alive. The oath is broken when either one dies. For, when he swears that he will beat Ahmad, it does not become wajib for him to do it till his death. If he swears that he will not beat Ahmad and does not beat him till after his death, the oath eternally will never be broken. For, in this case it immediately becomes wajib for him not to beat Ahmad. The oath is broken if he beats him once. He pays kaffarat, and the oath expires. If he beats him a second time he does not pay kaffarat again.

B) The time is appointed. If he breaks the oath before the time comes, kaffarat becomes necessary. The oath is not broken if he dies before the appointed time comes.

C) The oath which is made dependent upon a condition. It is to make the fulfillment of one's oath dependent on one's or someone else's doing something. It is to swear to something else by saying, "If you do this...," in order to prevent oneself or someone else from doing something intended, or by saying, "If you don't...," in order to get someone sitting to do something. This oath's being sahih (valid) requires in the first case the person's doing it at once (if the time has not been appointed) or by the appointed time (if the time has been appointed) and in the second case the person's not doing it or being unable to do it. If the first person is incapable of doing what is to be done the oath does not become sahih. If the time has not been appointed and if he gives up doing it first and then intends a second time and does it, the oath becomes sahih in the second case. But it does not become sahih in the first case. When a person says to another, "I swear (by Allah) that I will beat you if you don't leave this place and come home", if the latter stands up immediately, goes to the toilet, puts on his clothes, goes home, then comes back to the former place to get his key and then goes home again, the former's oath does not become sahih. For, these things done by the latter are not considered as matters delaying going home. So it is not necessary for the former to beat him. If the husband says to the wife who is getting ready to go out, "You will be divorced if you go out," and if she first gives up going out and then gets ready again and goes out later, she will not be divorced. If a man who attempts to beat his child is told, "I swear (by Allah) that I will not speak with you any more if you beat the child!" and if the man sits for a while and then beats the child, it is not necessary for the person who swore not to speak with him any more. If a person asks another to stay and eat with him and if the latter swears that he will not eat with him and leaves the place, saying, "If I eat with you...," the oath will lapse when he comes back and they eat together.

3 - Laghw [vain] oath. It is to swear an oath mistakenly by making a wrong guess on something in the past. This does not put one into a sinful state; nor does it entail kaffarat.

In all three kinds, making or violating an oath because of forgetfulness or under duress is like making or violating it knowingly and willingly.

For a mun'aquida oath to be sahih its fulfillment must be possible mentally and actually. If a certain period of time is appointed, fulfillment of the oath should be possible until the end of the appointed time. For, fulfillment of the oath becomes wajib at the end of the appointed time. It is sinful to swear for something impossible. When a person says to another, "I swear (by Allah) that I will give you your due tomorrow morning," the oath will not become sahih if either one of them dies before morning. For, it is impossible to fulfill the oath by the appointed time. When a person swears, "Today I will drink up the water in this large jug," the oath will not be sahih if there is no water in the jug or if the water is poured out before the day is over. If he has not appointed a time, his oath will not be sahih if there is no water in the jug; but if the water which is in the jug is poured out after the oath, the oath will be sahih and will have been violated, and kaffarat will be necessary, because he has not drunk it. For, though fulfillment of an oath for which there is no appointed time becomes wajib when one is about to die, it is wajib to do it whenever one can, because at the time of death it will be very difficult to fulfill it, or to pay kaffarat or will the payment of kaffarat if one cannot fulfill it.

If a person swears that he will ascend to the sky or that he will change a certain piece of stone into gold, he becomes hanith (a perjurer) and pays kaffarat, because he cannot do it. For, though science cannot do these two things yet, they are not impossible mentally. As angels can and some prophets did ascend to the sky, so the atoms that make up a piece of stone can change into atoms of gold.

While explaining the talaq (divorce), Ibni Abidin says, "If a person swears, 'May everything which is halal for me be haram if I do such and such a thing,' twice for two different things, his wife becomes divorced once when he does the first thing. And when he does the second thing she becomes divorced a second time. For, his wife's not being in his nikah as he does the second thing does not affect his second oath from being sahih. Because she was in his nikah when he swore the second oath, his second oath became sahih."

It is written in the books Multaqa and Durr-ul- mukhtar, "There are three different ways of making an oath: By the names of Allahu ta'ala, by making something that causes disbelief depend on a condition, and by making a divorce certain [by saying, 'May I be divorced from my wife if...']. Making an oath by using the names of Allahu ta'ala is done either by letters or by words. If one of the prefixes "b", "ta", and "wa" is added at the beginning and the "asra" [The vowel point placed under a consonant to indicate its being followed by "i" in pronunciation, like in "be".] is added at the end of the name, it becomes an oath. An oath can be made only with the names of Allahu ta'ala. A Muslim's oath cannot be made by other things. When making an oath by one of the names of Allahu ta'ala which can be given to men also, such as Halim, Alim, Jawad, it is necessary to intend and keep in mind that it is Allah's name. It is permissible also to make an oath with some of His attributes which have been traditionally used in oaths. Like saying, 'I swear by the Almightiness [Greatness, Compassionateness] of Allahu ta'ala...." An oath cannot be made with the Qur'an, with the Prophet 'salawat- ullahi alaihim ajmain', or with Kaba. It is not an oath to swear with one's honor, e.g. to say, 'Upon my honor, I promise,' or 'Upon my honor it is the truth.' It is haram to swear with one's life or head. It is an oath to say, 'I swear by Allah that...." It is an oath to say, 'I promise by Allah.' Also, it is an oath to use the words "qasem", "half", or "yamin" in one's promise, whether by using the simple present tense or present continuous tense in the promise, or to say, 'Ash-hadu,' and not to say Allah's name after it. If one says, "Be it my oath" or "Be it my vow" or "Be it my promise," it becomes an oath.

It is an oath to utter something that causes disbelief, such as to say, 'You are a disbeliever, or a Jew, or a Christian, or atheist if you do this,' or to say the same in the future tense: 'You will be....' The oath becomes broken when the second person does that thing. If the first person said it with the intention of an oath he has to pay kaffarat. If he said it because he wanted the latter to be a disbeliever, he (the sworn person) becomes a disbeliever. For, a person who gives consent to disbelief becomes a disbeliever. He who calls a Muslim a disbeliever becomes a disbeliever himself, even if he did not mean it. He who gives a positive answer to a person who calls him a disbeliever, such as to say, 'Yes, sir,' becomes a disbeliever. He should either not answer it at all or refuse it.

If a person says, 'If I enter this room, may it be halal to take interest, (or may everything be haram for me to eat),' it becomes an oath of the second kind. For interest is haram in every religion. It is disbelief to say, 'May it be halal.' And also it is disbelief to say, 'May everything be haram,' because it means: 'May it be haram to eat and drink such things as bread and water, which are halal to eat and drink in every religion.' If a person utters words that cause disbelief with the intention of swearing an oath, he will not become a disbeliever, but he will have sworn.

It is not an oath to say, 'If you do this, may Allah's wrath (or curse) be upon you, (may you be an adulterer, a thief, a wine drinker, an interest charger or usurer).' For it is not customary among Muslims to swear by using these words. It is not and oath to say, 'May it be a right upon me.' But it is an oath to say, 'For the sake of Allah.' It means for the right of Allah. It is an oath to say, 'I take an oath by Allah.' It is written in Ibni Abidin that if a person stands up to show reverence to another person passing by him though the latter, upon seeing his attempt to stand up, deprecates, 'Don't, for Allah's sake,' nothing is necessary for the latter, for having said these words. But the former should respect Allah's name and should not do the thing which he is adjured not to do. This comes to mean that a person who has adjured another not to continue doing or not to do something has not made an oath. But if he adjures him to begin doing something, he has made an oath. If the latter does not do it the person who has made the adjuration will have to pay kaffarat. He who says, 'I swear that my wife is divorced,' has not made an oath. If a person swears by making his own property haram, it does not become haram. For example, if he says, 'May my clothes be haram for me if...,' his clothes do not become haram. But he will have to pay kaffarat when he uses his clothes. If he says, 'May everything halal be haram for me if...,' not only will everything that can be eaten or drunk be haram for him when he breaks the oath, but also, if he is married, his wife will get one divorce, even if he did not intend (to divorce his wife). He will not have to pay kaffarat also. If he intended to divorce her three times, she would be divorced three times. So is the case with saying, 'May my wife be divorced (May she be haram for me) if I do this!' If an unmarried person says, 'May everything be haram if...,' he has made on oath. If he eats and drinks from his property after breaking his oath, kaffarat becomes necessary.

If a person vows something which has the conditions for being vowed, it becomes a nazr if he is willing to do it when he vows it. It becomes wajib for him to do it. For example, if he says, 'May it be my nazr to fast for one month for Allah's sake,' or, 'May it be my nazr to fast a month if I find what I have lost,' it becomes wajib for him to fast for a month when he finds the lost thing. He cannot escape it by paying kaffarat.

If he makes the nazr depend on a condition which he does not want to do, e.g. if he says, 'May it be my nazr to fast for a month if I steal so and so's purse,' he fasts for one month or pays the kaffarat for an oath without having stolen it.

If a person says, 'Insha-Allah,' [ 'If Allah wills it to be so.'] when making an oath, it will not become an oath.

It becomes an oath to say, 'For the Qur'an's sake,' or to put one's hand on the Qur'an, or to point to the Qur'an and say, 'For the sake of this.' For, this kind of oath has been customary.

It is written in Durr-ul-mukhtar that in Shafi'i Madhhab the lexical meaning of the word expressing the act which is made dependent on an oath is taken into account. In Maliki its meaning used in the Qur'an is taken into account. In Hanbali the meaning intended by the sworn person is taken into account. And in Hanafi Madhhab its meaning is taken in the sense in which it has been customary to use it in the concerned country or countries of the time. For example, when a person swears that he will never get on an animal's back, his oath will not be broken if he gets on a man's back. For, though man is described as Haywan-i-natiq (the reasoning and articulating animal) in dictionaries, it has not been customary to call man animal. If a person who has sworn that he will not sit on a post sits on a mountain, his oath will not be broken. The Qur'an calls mountains posts, but it has not been customary to call them so. If a person who has sworn that he will not demolish a house spoils a spider's web, his oath will not be broken. For, though a spider's web is called a house in the Qur'an, it has been customary to call it a web. If the sworn person says that when he swore he thought of the word in its meaning as used in the Qur'an or as shown in dictionaries, his statement is to be accepted. But if the word has been used figuratively, that is, not with its own meaning, his saying that he meant its customary figurative meaning is not accepted. If a person who has sworn not to buy anything with fulus buys something with gold his oath will not be broken. For, fulus is the name of the copper coin which has been monetized. He cannot claim that he meant to say, 'I will not buy anything.' Even if it is customary to say so, the meaning of 'fulus' is clear. Custom cannot change the meaning. If a person swears that he will not go out through the door and then goes out through the window or swears that he will not beat with a whip and then beats with a stick, his oath will not be broken. While explaining things that are haram, Ibni Abidin says that he who has sworn that he would not look at someone's face can look at his image in a mirror. For, the image is not the person himself but his likeness. [Likewise, what is heard through a loudspeaker or on the radio is not the human voice, but its likeness].

He who has sworn to commit a haram or not do an act of worship breaks his oath and then pays the kaffarat.

For the kaffarat of an oath you manumit a slave. Or you give a set of underwear large enough to cover the whole body of each of ten poor people, or feed ten poor people twice one day. It is also acceptable to feed one poor person twice a day for ten days. It is not permissible to feed others the same day for the second time. Therefore, if he feeds twenty poor people in the morning, he is obliged to feed ten of them in the evening or to give them the equivalent property of sadaqa-i fitr. It is not necessary to feed all the poor people on the same day. He can feed some other ones or former ones the next day. Also, it is permissible to give a poor person a set of underwear every day for ten days or to feed him twice a day for ten days or once a day for twenty days. Also, it is acceptable to give half a sa' of wheat or flour or bread to each of the ten poor people once for one day or to one poor person once a day for ten days. Material or other property [such as a cloth, a towel, a handkerchief, socks, meat, rice, underwear, slippers, medicine or religious, scientific or moral books] or gold or silver money of the same value can be given, instead. If you give ten days' amount to one poor person in one day, all of it will be for one day. If you give hundreds of sa' to each of ten poor individuals in one day, it will still be the kaffarat for one oath. The same is done for the kaffarat of an oath paid on behalf of a dead person. It is permissible to make someone your deputy to feed the poor or to give the money and to pay him the money later. He who cannot do any of these fasts for three successive days. For each of these fasts he must intend during the previous night. If a woman begins menstruating before completing the three days of fast, she does not continue fasting. She fasts for three more days after the menstruation is over. Kaffarat for Ramadan's fast is different. It is not correct to give the kaffarat before the Hins, that is, before breaking the oath. It is sinful to delay the kaffarat of an oath. It is written in Damad: A separate kaffarat is made for each (broken) oath. If a person says, "Wallahi warrahmani warrahimi, I will not do such and such a thing," he will have made three oaths. If he does that thing three kaffarats will be necessary. It is written in Badayi' and Hindiyya that fulus [paper money] can be given in lieu of feeding. It is necessary to intend while giving the kaffarat.

Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "Most tradesmen and market-dealers are fajir (dissolute, sinful)!" When he was asked the reason he said, "Their buying and selling is not halal. For they sin by swearing and lying very much." In another hadith he states, "A person who cheats someone out of his property by perjury will find Allahu ta'ala wrathful on the Resurrection Day." Please see the second page of the fifteenth chapter of the third part of the Turkish version. In another hadith, "A person with iman may commit any fault. But he cannot betray or lie." In another hadith, "Lying is permissible in three places: In war [and also when it is necessary to protect oneself and other Muslims against the harm of enemies of religion], in passing one Muslim's words on to another in order to reconcile them, and in handling one's wives." It is permissible to conceal a Muslim's sins, or his hiding place or property from a cruel person. Lying is permissible (when it is done) in order to prevent a quarrel between two Muslims or between a wife and a husband, to protect one's property, to prevent a Muslim's secret or fault from being revealed, or to prevent other things like these that are haram. It is like eating meat canonically unclean lest one should die.

It is written in Tariqat-i-Muhammadiyya: "Our Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' declared, 'Perjury is a grave sin.' He declared in another hadith, 'Hell is the destination of person who cheats a Muslim out of his rights by perjury.' Uttering an oath very often, even if you tell the truth, means to slight the name of Allahu ta'ala and yamin. It is utterly loathsome to swear flippantly with such names. So is the case with swearing in songs, plays, and parties.

If you break several oaths you have to make a kaffarat for each one. Kaffarat, like zakat, is worship through property. It is permissible to give your property through a deputy to the poor. But you have to make a niyya (intention) when preparing the property or at least before it is given to the poor."

It is written on the four hundred and seventh page of the book Ibda, "A hadith declares, 'Do not swear an oath by saying, "Upon my father." An oath can be sworn only with Allah's name.' Another hadith, which exists in Abu Dawud, declares, 'He who swears by his honor and chastity, which has been entrusted to him (by Allah) is not in our community.' A hadith, communicated by Tirmuzi 'rahmat-ullahi ta'ala alaih', declares, 'He who swears with any name other than that of Allah, becomes a disbeliever.' Oaths sworn by using such expressions as 'by your father,' 'by your life,' 'by your head,' 'by Kaba,' 'by your (my) honor,' and 'by the soil (on the grave) of such and such a wali' have become so widespread."

It is written in Uyun-ul-basair, "It is not sahih (valid) for a disbeliever to take an oath or to pay kaffarat." Hence, it is understood that adjurations made by disbelievers or renegades are not sahih. So it is not necessary to do what they ask you to do by adjuration.

Hadiqa states in its discourse on the afflictions incurred through speech, "It is not permissible to ask someone for something mundane by saying, 'For Allah's sake.' It is declared in a hadith that such people are accursed." As written in Durar wa Ghurar, in the fifth volume of Ibni Abidin, and in Hadiqa, if a Muslim tells you to do something 'for Allah's sake,' it is not necessary to do it, that is, it is not sinful not to do it. But it is good to do it if it is something mubah (permitted), especially if it is Taat (something which you will be rewarded for in the Hereafter). It is haram to pray through the right of the Prophet or for the sake of a dead or living wali. For no one has any rights upon Allahu ta'ala. This is the ijtihad of some savants, but such a prayer is permissible if your intention is: 'O my Allah! For the right Thou hast given them....' For, the forty-seventh ayat of room Sura purports, "It has been a right upon us to help believers." And the twelfth ayat of Anam Sura, which purports, "Allahu ta'ala has made it an obligation for Himself to have compassion for His slaves," shows that through His compassion and kindness He has bestowed rights upon His beloved ones. It is written in a fatwa of Bazaziyya that it is permissible to pray through Prophets or through the awliya whether they are dead or living. These documentaries clearly show that Wahhabis' attack upon the Ahl-as-sunnat on these grounds is quite wrong.