whether she vowed it for a specific one, or intended a non-specific one. As for Ahmad's statement: "And she performs the expiation of her oath," it is possible that he meant that the slaughtering of the rams is the expiation for her oath. It is also possible that there was an oath along with her vow. As for the other narration, a single expiation for an oath suffices her, according to what has preceded.
Section: He said: (And whoever swears by the manumission of what he owns, then breaks his oath, all that he owns of his male slaves, female slaves, mukatab (contracted) slaves, mudabbar (post-mortem emancipated) slaves, mothers of children, and any share he owns of his slave shall be emancipated).
The meaning is: if he says, "If I do such and such, then every slave I have is free," or "emancipated," or "everything I own is free." If he breaks his oath, his slaves become free, and an expiation will not suffice him. This is narrated from Ibn 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas. It is also the opinion of Ibn Abi Layla, al-Thawri, Malik, al-Awza'i, al-Layth, al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. It has been narrated from Ibn 'Umar, Abu Hurayrah, 'A'ishah, Abu Salamah, Hafsah, Zaynab bint Abi Salamah, al-Hasan, and Abu Thawr that: an expiation for an oath suffices him. This is because it is an oath, so it enters into the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: {So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy persons}. It is narrated from Abu Rafi' that he said: My mistress Layla bint al-'Ajma' said: "Every slave I have is emancipated, every wealth I have is a sacrificial offering, and I am a Jewess and a Christian if I do not separate between you and your wife." He said: So I went to Zaynab bint Umm Salamah, then I went to Hafsah. Up to his saying: Then I went to Ibn 'Umar, and he came with me to her. He stood at the door and gave the greeting, then said: "Are you made of stone or iron? Zaynab has given you a legal opinion, and the Mother of the Believers has given you a legal opinion; perform the expiation for your oath and let the man be with his wife." This was narrated by al-Athram and al-Jawzajani in length. Our argument is that he attached the emancipation to a condition, and it is capable of being attached, so it occurs upon the existence of its condition, like divorce. The verse is specific to divorce, and emancipation is in its meaning. And because emancipation is not an oath in reality; rather, it is an attachment to a condition, so it resembles divorce. As for the hadith of Abu Rafi', Ahmad said:
(1) In [B]: "from". (2) Surah al-Ma'idah: 89. (3) In [M]: "and his wife". (4) And it was recorded by al-Daraqutni, in: The Book of Vows. Sunan al-Daraqutni 4/163, 164. And al-Bayhaqi, in: The Chapter of Whoever Makes Something of His Wealth Charity or in the Path of Allah..., from The Book of Oaths. Al-Sunan al-Kubra 10/66.
