Arabic Text
عن أبي طريف عدي بن حاتم الطائي رضي الله عنه قال:
سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول:
«مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَىٰ يَمِينٍ ثُمَّ رَأىٰ أتْقَىٰ لله مِنْهَا فَلْيَأْتِ التَّقْوَى». رواه مسلم.
Translation
Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta’i, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
“Whoever swears an oath, then sees something more pleasing to Allah than it, let him do what is more pleasing to Allah.”
1. Connection to the Chapter
This hadith belongs under التقوى because it teaches that taqwa is not only avoiding sin, but also choosing what is better for Allah when a person has tied himself to something else by oath. The believer is not meant to become a prisoner of his own words when those words block a more righteous path. Taqwa is higher than stubbornness.
The hadith also shows that the center of religious life is not rigid insistence on keeping formality at all costs. What matters is what brings one closer to Allah. If the oath stands in the way of what is more righteous, then taqwa is to leave the oath and choose the better deed.
2. Key Words Meaning
حلف — to swear an oath; to bind oneself by invoking Allah’s name.
يمين — an oath; a sworn commitment with moral and legal weight.
أتقى — more God-fearing, more pleasing to Allah, more aligned with taqwa.
فليأت التقوى — let him do what is most righteous and most guarded before Allah.
3. Hadith Lessons
The first lesson is that taqwa is the scale by which actions should be measured. A believer should not cling to an oath if abandoning it leads to what is better in the sight of Allah. The oath is respected, but it is not absolute when higher righteousness is at stake.
The second lesson is that a Muslim must learn not to make his ego more important than his obedience. Sometimes people keep their oaths simply because they do not want to feel they “backed down.” But the Prophet ﷺ teaches that humility before Allah is better than pride before the self.
The third lesson is that religion is flexible in the service of righteousness. The goal is not to win an argument with one’s own words, but to reach what is closer to taqwa. That means the believer should think in terms of what pleases Allah, not merely what preserves his personal firmness.
4. Special Reflections
This hadith is especially important for people who turn promises, vows, and personal declarations into emotional chains. A person may say, “I already said it, so I must stick to it,” even when what he swore to do is now less righteous than another path. The hadith teaches that the believer’s loyalty is to Allah first, not to pride.
It also speaks to a subtle disease: people sometimes use oaths to lock themselves into bad decisions. The prophetic guidance is wiser than that. When the better path becomes clear, the servant should move toward it rather than remain imprisoned by a previous choice. That is not weakness. That is taqwa.
5. Three Questions to Close With
- When an oath or promise I made blocks a better path, do I choose taqwa or stubbornness?
- Am I more committed to preserving my wording, or to preserving what is more pleasing to Allah?
- Do I see flexibility in obedience as weakness, or as a higher form of sincerity?