1801 - Issue: He said: "And if he swears not to buy something or not to beat someone, then appoints an agent to purchase or to beat, he breaks his oath."

The general principle regarding this is that whoever swears not to do something, and then appoints someone who does it for him, breaks his oath, unless he intended to perform the act himself. Similar to this is the view of Malik and Abu Thawr. Al-Shafi'i said: He does not break his oath unless he intended by his oath that he would not deputize someone to perform it, or if he is among those whose custom is not to perform such acts personally; because the absolute attribution of an act implies performing it personally, as evidenced by the fact that if he authorizes an agent to sell, the agent is not permitted to delegate it to another. If he swears not to sell or not to beat, and then commands someone who does it, then if he is someone who usually performs such tasks personally, he does not break his oath; but if he is someone who does not perform such tasks personally, such as a ruler, there are two opinions regarding this. If he swears not to shave his head and commands someone who shaves it for him, it is said that there are two opinions regarding it, and it is said that he breaks his oath according to a single view. The followers of the school of opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y) said: If he swears not to sell and appoints someone who sells, he does not break his oath; but if he swears not to beat or not to marry, and appoints someone who does it, he breaks his oath.

Our argument is that the act is attributed to the one who appointed an agent for it and ordered it, thus he breaks his oath by it, just as if he were someone who does not perform it personally, and just as if he swore not to shave his head and ordered someone who shaved it, or swore not to beat and appointed someone who beat [on his behalf] according to Abu Hanifah. Allah Almighty said: "And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place of slaughter" (Qur'an 2:196). And He said: "Shaving your heads and shortening [the hair]" (Qur'an 48:27). This encompasses the deputization of someone else for it. Also, because the thing sworn against was realized by his agent, he breaks his oath by it, just as if he swore not to enter a house and ordered someone who carried him into it. Their argument that attributing an act to someone requires personal execution is rejected. We do not concede that when he appoints an agent for an act, it is prohibited for the agent to further delegate it; and even if we conceded it, it is because agency is based on trustworthiness and skill, and people differ in these, so when he specifies one person, it is not permissible to violate his designation, unlike an oath.

However, if he intended by his oath the personal performance of the thing sworn against, or the cause of his oath implies it, or if his situation provides context, it is restricted to that; because an unrestricted statement is qualified by one's intention or by what indicates it, resembling the case where he expresses it explicitly in his speech. If he swears that he will certainly purchase, sell, or beat, and appoints someone who does that, he fulfills his oath; for the same reasons we mentioned regarding the prohibition, and this is why when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on those who shave their heads," it encompassed those whose heads were shaved by his command.