Mishkat al-Masabih 3412
‘Abd ar-Rahman b. Samura reported God’s Messenger as saying,	
"Do not ask for rule ship, ‘Abd ar-Rahman b. Samura, for if you are given it as a result of asking you will be left to deal with it yourself, but if you are given it without asking you will be helped in undertaking it. And when you swear an oath and consider something else to be better than it, make atonement for your oath and do the thing that is better.’’* 

(Bukhari and Muslim.)

*In the Damascus edn the tradition ends at oath*. Mirqat, iii, S57 gives the full form translated above and adds:
A version has, "Do the thing that is better and make atonement for your oath.’* Bukhari, al-Aiman wan-nudhur , I and Muslim, Aiman , 19 give the first form in full. I have not found the other version.
وَعَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يَا عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ سَمُرَةَ لَا تَسْأَلِ الْإِمَارَةَ فَإِنَّكَ إِنْ أُوتِيتَهَا عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ وُكِلْتَ إِلَيْهَا وَإِنْ أُوتِيتَهَا عَنْ غَيْرِ مَسْأَلَةٍ أُعِنْتَ عَلَيْهَا وَإِذَا حَلَفْتَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَرَأَيْتَ غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا فَكَفِّرْ عَنْ يَمِينِكَ وَأْتِ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ» . وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: «فَأْتِ الَّذِي هُوَ خير وَكفر عَن يَمِينك»