Swearing by God Not to Wash Dishes

Question

A person swore that they would not wash the dishes but ended up washing them. Is this considered null and void?

Answer 1

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sistani (may God protect him):

First: An oath requires a specific formulation; simply saying 'I swear' or 'I took an oath' without invoking God's name is not sufficient. An oath cannot be made by swearing on the Quran or the infallible ones (peace be upon them).

Second: In the case mentioned in the question (not washing the dishes), unless there is a personal worldly benefit or a rationally significant reason for not doing it, the oath does not hold and is considered null and void.

Third: If a parent forbids their child before the oath, the oath has no effect.

If the aforementioned conditions are met and you still violate the oath, you must perform a expiation for breaking the oath. To know what the expiation is, you can refer to Question 1526.

Source: Minhaj al-Salihin, Vol. 3, Oaths, Sections 690 + 691 + 695

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Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei (may God protect him):

First: An oath can be validly made by swearing by God in various ways:

A- The oath must be made by invoking God alone, using His specific names and attributes.

B- Among the specific names and attributes that can be sworn by are: 'By God', 'By the Most Merciful', 'By the Turner of Hearts and Eyes', 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul', 'By the One who split the seed and created the soul'.

C- An oath can be made with the following words if sworn without any additional conditions or limitations: 'The Lord', 'The Creator', 'The Provider', 'The Merciful', for example: 'By the Lord, I will pray two units of prayer.'

D- An oath can be made with phrases like: 'By God's right', 'By God's majesty', 'By God's greatness', 'By God's pride', 'By God's life', 'By God's power', 'By God's knowledge'.

E- An oath can be made using the letters of the oath, which are 'wa', 'bi', and 'ta', such as saying: 'By God', or 'By Allah', or 'I swear by God'.

F- An oath can be made using the phrases of swearing and taking an oath, such as saying: 'I swear by God', or 'I take an oath by God', or 'I have sworn by God'.

G- An oath cannot be made with common words that do not specifically refer to God, such as: 'the existent', 'the living', 'the hearing', 'the seeing', 'the capable'.

H- An oath cannot be made by swearing by the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), the Imams (peace be upon them), or any other revered souls, nor can it be made by the Quran, the Holy Kaaba, or other sacred places.

Second: In cases where the action and inaction are equally permissible, as in the example of washing dishes mentioned in the question, where doing it is no different from not doing it, if either action or inaction is preferred according to common understanding, the oath is valid if it pertains to the preferred action, and invalid if it pertains to the less preferred action.

Third: If the parent does not permit or forbid, the oath does not hold. Therefore, the child's oath is valid only if the parent has permitted it.

If the conditions mentioned are met and you still violate the oath, you must perform an expiation for breaking the oath. To know what the expiation is, you can refer to Question 1526.

Source: Fiqh al-Wali: Rules of Oaths (1/2) + Fiqh al-Wali: Rules of Oaths (2/2)

May you be successful in all good.