Does an oath against consuming a specific item break if its characteristic changes and its name is lost while its components remain, such as fresh dates turning into dried dates?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Expiations

Book 60 · Issue 6 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If the characteristic changes and the name is lost, but the substance remains, such as swearing not to eat fresh dates ('rutab') and they become dried dates ('tamr'), or swearing not to address a boy and he becomes an old man, or swearing not to eat a lamb and it becomes a ram, or fresh dates become syrup or honey, or swearing not to eat wheat and it becomes flour, bread, or gruel, or swearing not to drink milk and it becomes butter or cheese, or swearing not to enter a specific house and it becomes a mosque, bathhouse, or open space, the oath is broken in all these cases upon interaction with the transformed object. Abu Hanifa supports this in cases involving the boy becoming an old man, the lamb becoming a ram, and the house changing status. Abu Yusuf agrees when wheat becomes flour. Al-Shafi'i accepts this for dates becoming dried dates, the boy becoming an old man, and the lamb becoming a ram, while accepting that in other instances, the oath is not broken because the name and form of the sworn-upon item ceased to exist.

Supporting text

In cases where the name and form are lost, others rule that the oath is not broken because the object sworn against no longer exists, analogous to the egg becoming a chick. The counter-argument is that the essential substance remains, thus the oath is broken, just as swearing not to eat a lamb and eating its meat breaks the oath. Furthermore, designation by pointing takes precedence over the name when both are present, similar to when designation is combined with attribution.