the knife with which one sharpens. Or he says: 'So-and-so has no deposit (wadi'ah) with me, nor anything.' Meaning by 'ma' (no/what), 'that which'. Or he says: 'So-and-so is not here,' and he intends a specific place. Or he says: 'By Allah, I did not eat anything of this, nor did I take anything from it,' intending the remainder after his taking and eating it. This and its likes, from which something other than what he meant by his oath occurs to the listener, constitutes a ta'wil (figurative interpretation), because it is contrary to the apparent meaning. The state of the swearer who employs ta'wil is one of three. The first is that he is oppressed, such as one whom an oppressor compels to swear on something which, if he were to be truthful about it, would lead the oppressor to wrong him, or wrong someone else, or cause a Muslim harm. This person has the right to his interpretation. Muhanna said: I asked Ahmad about a man who had two wives, both named Fatimah. One of them died, and he swore by the divorce of Fatimah, intending the one who had died. He said: 'If the one requiring him to swear is an oppressor, then the intention is the intention of the one taking the oath. If the one swearing is the oppressor, then the intention is the intention of the one requiring the oath.' Abu Dawud narrated with his chain of transmission from Suwayd ibn Hanzalah, who said: 'We set out intending the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and Wathilah ibn al-Aqsa was with us. An enemy of his seized him, and the people were hesitant to swear, so I swore that he was my brother, and he let him go. We then came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and I mentioned that to him, and he said: "You are the most pious and most truthful of them. The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim."' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: 'In the ma'arid (innuendos/figurative speech) there is a latitude (manduhah) avoiding lying.' He meant the spaciousness of innuendos through which the listener is made to imagine something other than what he intended. Muhammad ibn Sirin said: 'Speech is too vast for a witty person to need to lie.' He meant he does not need to lie due to the abundance of innuendos. He specified the witty (zarif) person, meaning the intelligent and astute one, for he is clever enough to use interpretation, and thus has no need to lie. The second state is that the swearer is an oppressor, such as one whom a judge requires to swear regarding a right owed by him. In this case, his oath is redirected to the apparent meaning of the wording that the one requiring the oath intended, and the swearer's interpretation does not benefit him. Al-Shafi'i held this view, and we know of no opponent to it, for Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Your oath is based on how your companion believes you." Narrated by Muslim and Abu Dawud.