Among the forms of unintended (laghw) oaths is for one to swear about something he thinks is as he swore it to be (50), and it becomes clear that it is otherwise. As for swearing regarding rights before a judge, there are two opinions: One is that refraining from it is better than performing it, so it is disliked (makruh). This was mentioned by our colleagues and the colleagues of al-Shafi'i, because it was narrated that 'Uthman and al-Miqdad disputed before 'Umar regarding some property that al-Miqdad had borrowed. 'Umar placed the oath upon al-Miqdad, who then returned it to 'Uthman, at which point 'Umar said, "He has treated you fairly." 'Uthman then took what al-Miqdad gave him without swearing, saying, "I feared that a decree might coincide with a calamity, and it would be said: 'By the oath of 'Uthman' (51)." The second opinion is that it is permissible, and doing it is the same as leaving it, because Allah, the Almighty, ordered His Prophet to swear regarding the truth in three instances. Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi narrated that 'Umar said from the pulpit, while holding a staff in his hand: "O people, do not let an oath prevent you (52) from your rights; for by the One in Whose hand is my soul, there is a staff in my hand." 'Umar ibn Shabba narrated in his book "Qudat al-Basra" (Judges of Basra), with his chain of narration from al-Sha'bi, that 'Umar and Ubayy disputed (53) before Zayd regarding some date palms that Ubayy claimed, and the oath was directed at 'Umar. Zayd said, "Excuse the Commander of the Faithful." 'Umar said, "And why should the Commander of the Faithful be excused? If I know something, I am entitled to it (54) by my oath; otherwise, I will abandon it. By Allah, besides Whom there is no god, the palm trees are indeed my palm trees, and Ubayy has no right to them." When they left, he gifted the palms to Ubayy, so it was said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful, why was this not done before the oath?" He replied: "I feared that if I did not swear, people would not swear regarding their rights after me, and it would become a Sunnah (55)." This is because it is a truthful oath regarding a right, so it resembles an oath taken before someone other than a judge.

The fourth category is the disliked (makruh), which is swearing to perform a disliked act or to abandon a commendable one. Allah, the Almighty, said: {And do not make Allah, by your oaths, an obstacle to your being righteous and fearing Allah and making peace among people}. It was narrated that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, swore that he would not spend on Mistah after what he said to 'A'ishah; he was among the group of the people of the slander (al-ifk) who spoke about 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, so Allah, the Almighty, revealed: {And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants in the cause of Allah}.