An Ascetic Vow and an Unseemly Oath
Īlā՚ andẓihārin Muslim law
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2803390 |
|---|---|
| Authors | G R Hawting (SOAS University of London, corresponding author), Gerald Hawting |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 113-125 |
| Publication date | 1994-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0041977x00028160 |
| OpenAlex | W2040794108 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 2 |
In societies where oaths and vows are taken seriously the problem inevitably arises of how to escape from them when necessary. The story of Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11.3Off. illustrates what might happen if no escape mechanism is sought. In both the Bible (Num. 30:3) and the Qur՚ān (5:89) we are told that we must fulfil our oaths and vows, but both scriptures also set out acceptable ways of atonement for certain occasions when fulfilment proves impossible (cf. Lev. 5:1 ff. and Qur՚ān loc. cit.). The atonement might then serve as an escape route for someone who is bound by an oath or vow which he can no longer keep. Other ways out were also provided by the law and its interpreters (sometimes known in Islam as theahl al-ḥall wa՚l-՚aqd, 'those who loose and bind'): the words used might be held to be invalid; recourse might be had to the principle that we cannot be held to vows which are beyond our capacity or are contrary to God's law; our state of mind at the time we made the vow (whether in anger, jest, or mental distraction) might be taken into consideration, etc. The tension thus generated between the desire to stress the seriousness of oaths and vows on the one hand, and the need to be realistic in recognizing human weakness on the other, could be considerable
Duty · Oath · Political science · Sociology · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.15 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2013 - 2022 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |