Does eating a mixed fruit (partially ripe, partially unripe dates) constitute breaking an oath not to eat ripe dates (rutab)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Expiations
Primary text
If a person swears an oath not to eat ripe dates (rutab) and then consumes a mixed date (munṣaf, which is partly rutab and partly unripe/basr, or mudhnab, which starts ripening from the bottom), the oath is broken (he is considered to have broken the oath, or hānith). This view is held by Abu Hanifa, Muhammad, and Al-Shafi'i. The justification is that he consumed a portion that was ripe (rutab) and a portion that was unripe (basr), which is equivalent to eating half a ripe date and half an unripe date separately. If he had sworn not to eat ripe dates and ate the portion that had ripened within the mixed fruit, the oath would be broken; similarly, if he swore not to eat unripe dates and ate the unripe portion, the oath would be broken.
Supporting text
Abu Yusuf and some followers of Al-Shafi'i rule that the oath is not broken because the mixed fruit is not strictly termed 'rutab' or 'tamr' (fully ripe dates).