The Expression ‘Whenever’ Does Not Entail Repetition

26-6-2018 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu'alaikum.Dear syaikh, I want to ask, if I found different fatwa about single problem, what should I do?Here is my problem:I once made an oath/vow of lajaaj that "by Allah, whenever I do a certain sin I will fast a day". The keyword is that my oath contained the word "whenever". In 2015, I searched for fatwa regarding my problem and found these fatwa https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/55777https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/84596These fatwa said that I could expiate my oath with only a single kaffara even if I my oath contained the word "whenever". So I followed this fatwa for 3 years.But now in 2018, I come to see some other fatwa for other problems on Islamweb and accidentally find that my problem actually have 2 different fatwa about it.Here are 2 arabic fatwa:http://fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=344248This fatwa is the same with the one that I Found in 2015. I only need to pay 1 kaffarah.http://fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=369745&fromCat=2600But this one is different. It Says that if I included "whenever" in my oath then I will need to pay kaffarah as many time as I break it.So how should I response to this? It's pretty clear that these fatwa were made by different scholars in Islamweb. Are the two kind of fatwa equal and I can choose? or should i forget about this and stick with the first one I found and followed since 2015?Thank you

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

There is no contradiction between the two Fataawa.

The last Fatwa [Arabic] to which you referred is not as you claimed, that if you used the word “whenever” in your vow, then the expiation must be repeated; the Fatwa reads: “If you commit a sin many times, you have to repent whenever you sin, but you are not obliged to fast or expiate again because the wording that you mentioned does not entail repetition.

It is clear that what is repeated if the sin is repeated is the repentance, and that no fast or expiation is repeated by the questioner, because his wording does not entail repetition, and the Fatwa did not mention the wording that you quoted at all.

Finally, we advise you to beware of Waswaas (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which is a serious disease that is difficult to get rid of if a person is overcome by it.

Allah knows best.

www.islamweb.net