Swearing to a lie by Allaah
Fatwa No: 89044

Question

I have a wife but I committed a sin by swearing in the name of Allaah to another woman that I am not married to her and she is not carrying my child. I knew this is a big sin. What should I do now?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

If you had not intended divorce by what you had said then your wife is still under your guardianship, but you have committed a sin. To make a false oath leads a person to Hellfire and it is one of the great major sins. The Prophet said: "The major sins are: Associating partners to Allaah, making a false oath and disobeying one's parents."[Al-Bukhari] Therefore, you should know that you have indeed committed a great sin as you made a false oath, so you have to repent. The majority of the scholars say that there is no expiation for such an oath. However, if you expiate then that is better to avoid the difference of opinion of the scholars who are of the view that a person has to expiate for his false oath, and the terms that you have uttered do not affect your marriage and your children. To see how to make an expiation for an oath, please refer to Fatwa: 82288.

Allaah knows best.

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