Fathwa - Licking one's lips while fasting/Breaking one's oath out of forgetfulness

Question
I have 2 questionsIn Sha Allah. Firstly, when I fast, is it
permissible to lick the lips, as they become quite dry? Also, after I
wake up, I always have to spit, because I think that I have licked the
pillow or something, but should I have to do this? Secondly if you
make an oath, (for example, "I won't say such and such") and
forgetfully break it, then I have readthat it doesn't require
expiation. However, if you forgetfully break the oath, and then think
you have broken it and say "such and such" would this require
expiation because you didn't breakit the first time because of
forgetfullness, but you thought it was broken, soyou did it?
jazakallah , and may Allah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that
MuhammadisHis slave and Messenger.
If a fasting person licks his lips without moistening them with
hissaliva, then this is permissible and his fast isnot invalidated due
to that.
However, if one puts his saliva on his lips and thenhe licks his
saliva from them [his lips], then we have already clarified in
previousFataawathat this invalidates his fasting.
Ash-Sharh Al-Kabeer, oneof the books of the Hanbali school of
jurisprudance, reads: "If one's saliva comes out to his clothes or
between his fingers or between his lips and then he swallows it again,
or thathe swallows the saliva of another person, then, in this case,
his fast is invalidated because he swallowed it from other than his
mouth, it is exactly as if he swallowed something else other than the
saliva."[End of quote].
On the other hand, you are not obliged to spit when you wake up on the
pretext that you may have licked something (while sleeping); this is
nothing but an instance of severe whispers of Satan, so you should be
careful about this and not open a door (to whispers) which would be
very difficult for you to close.
As regards the oath, if one breaks it out of forgetfulness, then he is
not required to offer expiation for it as per theview we adopt here at
Islamweb. However, his oath does not become ineffective by breaking
itout of forgetfulness, but it still exists in a way that if he breaks
it afterwardsknowingly, he is obliged to offer expiation.
Asna Al-Mataalib, one of the books of the Shaafi'i school of
jurisprudance, reads:"The oath does notbecome ineffective if onedoes
what he made an oath on (i.e., not to do) out of forgetfulness or
ignorance or compulsion."[End of quote].
Also,Ar-Ruhaybaani,fromthe Hanbali school of jurisprudence, said:
"One's oath does not become ineffective if he breaks it in one of
these (three) cases."[End of quote].
However, if one breaks his oath deliberately while believing that his
oath no longer exists by what he did out of forgetfulness, then it
appears from the statements of the scholars that he broke hisoath
(i.e. the expiation would be required) unless he was emulating a
scholar who issued him aFatwato this effect.
Sharh Al-Bahjah, one of the books of the Shaafi'i school of
jurisprudance, reads: "If he does something (what he made an oath not
to do) while believing that his oath has become ineffective by what he
did out of forgetfulness for example, then he is not breaking his oath
if he relied on a Fatwa (to this effect) even if it was issued by a
person who isnot a scholar. However, ifhe did not rely on any Fatwa
but he acted according to his judgment that his oath no longer exists,
then he is breaking his oath…..."[End of quote].
Accordingly, if you had done what you made an oath not to do just
because of thinking that your oath no longer exists without relying on
aFatwa, then in this case you broke your oath and you are obligated to
expiate for it.
Allaah Knows best.