unjustly, he will certainly meet Allah while He is turning away from him" (27). This is a hasan sahih (sound and authentic) hadith. It has been narrated in a hadith: "The Yamin al-Ghamus (the perjury oath) leaves dwellings desolate" (28). It is recommended for the judge to warn the defendant against a false oath and to recite to him the verse and the narrations.

Section: Whoever has a debt claimed against him while he is in financial distress, it is not permissible for him to swear that he has no right against him, and this is the opinion of al-Muzani. Abu Thawr said: He may do so, because Allah the Exalted said: {And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease} (29). Also, because the creditor does not deserve to demand it from him at the present time, and he is not obligated to pay it to him. Our argument is that the debt is in his liability and it is a right due to the creditor, and if there were no right against him, it would not be mandatory to grant him respite for it.

Section: The oath of the swearer depends on the nature of his response. If a claim is made against him that he usurped property, was entrusted with a deposit, or borrowed from him, we look at the defendant's response. If he says, "I did not usurp from you, nor were you entrusted to me, nor did I borrow from you," he is tasked with swearing to that. If he says, "You have no right against me," or "You do not have a claim against me," or "You do not have a claim against me for what you claimed, nor any part of it," it is a valid response. He is not tasked with responding specifically regarding usurpation, deposit, and loan, because it is possible that he usurped from him and then returned it to him, so if he denied that, he would be a liar. If he admitted it then claimed he returned it, it would not be accepted from him. Therefore, when he is asked for an oath, he swears according to how he responded. If he claimed, "I bought from you the house that is in your hand," and he denied it and asked for his oath, we look at his response. If he responded by saying, "You do not deserve it," he swears to that, and he is not obligated to swear that he did not buy it, because he might have bought it from him and then returned it to him. If he responded by saying, "You [did not] (31) buy it from me," he swears to that. Ahmad said, regarding a man who claimed against a man that he had entrusted him with a deposit and he denied it: "Does he swear: 'I did not take your deposit'?" He said: "If he swears: 'You have nothing of yours with me, and you have nothing of mine in your hand,' he has fulfilled that." This indicates that he is not obligated to swear according to the response, and that whenever he swears: 'You have no right against me,' he is absolved by that. The followers of al-Shafi'i have two opinions, like these two.