Riyad U Saliheen

`Auf bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said: `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) as told that `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased with them) had said in respect of selling of a gift which was presented to her: "By Allah! If `Aishah does not stop this kind of thing, I will declare her incompetent to administer her property.'' `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) asked: "Did He (`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair) say so?'' The people said: "Yes.'' `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: "I vow it before Allah that I will never speak to Ibn Az-Zubair.'' When this desertion lasted long, `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair sought intercession with her, but she said: "By Allah I will not accept the intercession of anyone for him, and I will not commit a sin of breaking my vow.'' When this state of affairs was prolonged, Ibn Az-Zubair felt it hard on him. He said to Al-Miswar bin Makhramah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin Yaghut: "I beseech you in the Name of Allah that you should take me to `Aishah because it is unlawful for her to vow to sever relations with me.'' So Al-Miswar and `Abdur-Rahman took him with them. They sought her permission, saying: "As-salamu `alaika wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!  Shall  we  come  in?'' `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: "Come in,'' They asked: "All of us?'' She said: "All of you,'' not knowing that Ibn Az-Zubair was also with them. So, when they entered, Ibn Az-Zubair entered the screened place and got hold of `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her), his aunt. He was requesting her to forgive him and wept. Al-Miswar and `Abdur-Rahman also pleaded on his behalf and requested her to speak to him and to accept his repentance. They said to her: "The Prophet (PBUH) forbade to cut off relationship because it is unlawful for any Muslim not to talk to his (Muslim) brother (or sister, for that matter) for more than three (days).'' So when they persisted in urging and reminding her of the superiority of having good relation with kith and kin, she began to weep, saying: "I have made a vow which is a matter of very serious nature.'' They persisted in their appeal till she spoke with `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, and she freed forty slaves as an expiation for breaking her vow. Later on, whenever she remembered her vow, she would weep so much that her veil would become wet with tears.[Al-Bukhari].Commentary:  `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased with him) was the real nephew of `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her). She had made a vow that she would not talk to her nephew. She thought that such an oath was permissible as her nephew (the then governor of Makkah) had shown his intention to put a ban on the spending of `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her). In his opinion, she was spending very lavishly in charity. Later `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased with him) realized his mistake and went to his aunt to seek forgiveness along with two persons as recommenders. After this, it was proper for her to break her oath and resume her relations with him. The expiation for breaking a vow is the same as that of breaking an oath, i.e., to feed ten indigent people on a scale of the average for the food of one's family, or cloth them, or give a slave his freedom. If one cannot afford any of these things, then he should fast for three days. (See Qur'an, 5:89) But `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her), in her generosity, bought forty slaves and freed them.