Does a person break an oath not to sell or marry if they issue the proposal (Ijab) but the buyer or spouse does not accept?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Oaths

Book 59 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If one swears not to sell or not to marry, and then issues the proposal (Ijab) for the sale or marriage, but the buyer or the prospective spouse does not accept, the oath is not broken (no Hinth). This is the position of Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i, and there is no known difference of opinion on this matter. This is because sale and marriage are contracts requiring acceptance (Qabul) to be complete. Since the term (sale or marriage) is not achieved without acceptance, the oath is not broken merely by the proposal.