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Swearing Not to do Something But Fearing that One Might Fall into it.
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Question:
A person swore not to do a certain thing, and that if he did it, he would fast for two consecutive months. Now he fears that he might do this thing. What is the ruling?
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Answer:
This man wishes to prevent himself from doing a certain thing, and he swore that if he did it he would fast for two consecutive months. His intention by this was to remember a powerful reason to prevent himself from doing it, which was to fast for two consecutive months. Cases such as this fall into the category of a vow. What is intended by a vow is to encourage or prevent, or to confirm the truth of something or belie it. The ruling for a vow, according to the scholars, is the same as that for an oath, which is to feed ten poor persons, or clothe them, or to free a slave. And if you are unable to do these things, you must fast for three days.
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Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-`Uthaymeen
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Fatawa Islamiyah, The book of Oaths, Vol. 6, p. 374, DARUSSALAM
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