False oaths

[centi50]

Salam to all

I thank everyone who gave my question a time

God bless you all and increase us in knowledge

[centi50]

Salam,



This is a misleading statement: in this verse, feeding 10 poor people or "fasting" 3 days, or whatever it is, is the punishment (kafara in Arabic in the verse) of making false oath, not a price to pay to get allowed to make false oath.

It is exactly like in our modern world: if you drive above the speed limit, you can get a fine.
But it is incorrect to state that you are allowed to drive above the speed limit provided you pay some amount of money.

One can find that the punishment is too light but that's an entirely different problem.

Salam bro,

So the punishment of taking and knowingly a false oath is expiation (kafara) in 3:89?


God bless all

[Anoushirvan]

Salam bro,

So the punishment of taking and knowingly a false oath is expiation (kafara) in 3:89?


God bless all

Salam,

No. In fact, punishment and expiation are two (almost) synonymous words in the context of the some religious beliefs, including that of Qur'an but also Judaism and Christianity.

Expiation (Kafara in Qur'an Arabic, Kipur in Hebrew or Aramaic) views punishment as a path to get redeemed for a sin.

In verse 5:89, expiation can take one of the following forms:
* feeding or clothing of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your own families, or
* freeing of a slave, or
* fast of three days (reserved only for those who cannot opt for the two options above)

Other views of punishment do exist in various communities and societies:
* compensation of a fault
* repair a breach to the social contract (often the view of Western laws)
* revenge (often in the context of tribal societies)

[centi50]

Salam,

No. In fact, punishment and expiation are two (almost) synonymous words in the context of the some religious beliefs, including that of Qur'an but also Judaism and Christianity.

Expiation (Kafara in Qur'an Arabic, Kipur in Hebrew or Aramaic) views punishment as a path to get redeemed for a sin.

In verse 5:89, expiation can take one of the following forms:
* feeding or clothing of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your own families, or
* freeing of a slave, or
* fast of three days (reserved only for those who cannot opt for the two options above)

Other views of punishment do exist in various communities and societies:
* compensation of a fault
* repair a breach to the social contract (often the view of Western laws)
* revenge (often in the context of tribal societies)

Salam brother,

This means that one can lie by giving false oath and then expiate, with feeding poor people or fasting.

This is a light punishment, considering that you can easily affect/impact cases and thus causing thulm to the other party who you are giving false against

God bless

[Anoushirvan]

Salam brother,

This means that one can lie by giving false oath and then expiate, with feeding poor people or fasting.

This is a light punishment, considering that you can easily affect/impact cases and thus causing thulm to the other party who you are giving false against

God bless

Salam,

the context in this verse is not making a false testimony in a case (today in our modern world, the only real use of oath together with marriage), but breaking a promise previously made in a pledge or a contract ("bima ʿaqqadttumu al-aymana").

You didn't necessarily intend to lie in the first place when you made a promise that you will not fulfill later.
It happened several times for me, I genuinely made a promise I couldn't fulfill, because it turned out to be too much for me.

Whether the punishment provided in Qur'an is too light or too strong in this context, I don't know. The right balance may be not so easy to set.