/ p e a k in g to,
going to, . ,
or 'w a jh in g a
perfon. .
A vow againft
b e a tin g is v i olated
by any
aft which
caufes pain,
tmlefs that aft
be committed
in fp o rt-n
Vöw offta y ^
in g a perfon
who is'al-
ready dead .
incurs thé
penalty.
vulgar idiom, is meant limply covering.')— In the lame manner, i f a*
man were to make ayow, faying to another “ if \fptak to you, my
“ -Have is free,” or “ if l come to you,” and'fo forth,. and he Ihould
fpeak to, or go to,, that'perfon after his death, yet he is not forfworn;
beeaufe the intent of Ipeaking is to impart ideas, which death prevents
the pollibility of; and “ coming to the dead” implies a Zeearit, or ^vitia
tio n , which is not to the dead, but to the Jhrine or Maufoleum of the :
dead.
If- a man make a vow, faying to another “ if I walh you, m y
“ Have is free,” and he Ihould wafh that.perlon after his death, he is r
forfworn ; beeaufe to ivafh limply fignifies to ahlute with aviewtopiin I
rifcation, which takes plaee in the ablution .of the dead.
If a-man make avow that “ he..will not beat his wife,” and he ’
afterwards pull her hair, or feiize her by the throat,. or bite- her i with i
his teeth, he is forfworn;. beeaufe beating is the term for an. aft which ;
caufes pain, and pain is excited by the afts in queftion.— Some have af-
ferted that if thefe afts are done in the courfe of mutual playing and f
dalliance, the vower is not forfworn, beeaufe under fuch circumftances
thefe bear the conliruftion o ije jls , ..and not o f beating,
If a man fay “ if I do not- flay fuch an one, my wife is divorced,”
and. the-perfon mentioned be not living, and the. vower himfelf know
this, he is forfworn.; bec-sufe he here makes his vow refpefting that ■
life with-which G o d may inlpire the deceafed anew,— and as this is ■
poffible,. his vow hands valid; .and he is then .forfworn,. becaule the
flaying/)f that.perfon is in the common courfe of things impoffible...
If, hoWever* the vower be not aware of that perfon’s-bein-g already de-
eeafed, he is not forfworn, beeaufe he has here made his vow refpefting
that life which he fuppofes to be exifting in fuch aiperlon, .but .which,
in the common courfe of things, is no longer conceivable. Thereisaa
divbrfity of opinion between Haneefa and Aboo Toofaf concerning this
cafe,, from the analogy it bears to the cafe of the veflel of water;,— ,
that
that is, if a man were to vow “ if I do not drink out of this cup my
wife is divorced,” and there Ihould happen to be no water in the
cup, he is not forfworn, according to Haneefa and Mohammed, on account
of the invalidity of the vow, from the impoffibility of fulfilling
it: but according to .Aboo Yoofaf he is forfworn; beeaufe he does not
hold the pollibility of fulfilment to be a condition of the validity of the
v ow ;— and fo alfo in the prefent cafe. In the cafe of the vejfel o f water,
however, there is no diftinftion made with refpeft to knowledge; that
is, the vower (according to Haneefa and Mohammed) is not forfworn,
whether he be aware of the cup having no water in it or not; and this
■ is approved.— It is otherwife in the cafe in queltion, for there a diftinc-
tion is made, -as has been already mentioned.
C H A P. XÏII,
Of Vows refpefting the Payment of Money-.
I f a man make * vow, faying “ I will difeharge my debt to fuch an Difference,in
one fhortly," this means within lefs than one month; and i f he fav avow> be-
J J 9 J tween the
“ I will difeharge my debt due to fuch an one in a length o f time," terms jb o r t ly ,
this means more than a month; beeaufe any (pace within a month is
accounted a Jhort time, and a month or any term beyond it is accounted
a long time; and hence it is that where two friends meet after a lon^
feparation, one will fay to the-other “ I have not feen you this monthl"
-and fo forth.
B b b b 2 I f