Ruling on paying the expiation without the permission of the person who breaks the oath

15-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

A man broke his oath and does not want to offer the expiation for breaking it. Can his wife feed ten needy people as expiation from her husband's money without his knowledge?

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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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Offering the expiation for breaking an oath should be done with the permission of the oath-taker who has broken his oath, otherwise, it would not clear him of liability, whether it is paid from his wealth or that of any other person. This is because paying the expiation for breaking an oath is an act of worship, and one of the conditions for its validity is intention. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Verily, the (reward of) deeds depend on the intention..." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Therefore, the wife should gently, kindly, and wisely convince her husband to pay the due expiation for breaking his oath, and inform him that it is obligatory on him and that he should give her the permission to pay the expiation on his behalf, whether from his money or hers. We ask Allaah The Exalted to bless you and us with success and guidance.

 Allaah Knows best.