Breaking an Oath

September 4, 2010

1.2K

Question

If I break my oath, then to expiate I fast for three days, then what if I break my oath again do i fast for three days again? My oath was to read namaaz five times a day but i broke this, say I make up for it but I lapse again sumwhere along the line and one day miss fajr do i have to make up for it again?

Answered by: Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

Assalamu alaykum

In the name of Allah most Beneficent most Merciful

Only the one kaffara is necessary for you in this case. For instance, if your oath was to make your five daily prayers, and you said something like, “By Allah, I will observe my five daily prayers,” then by missing a prayer you would have to make an expiation (kaffara).

Once you have done so then your oath is complete and has ended. Therefore, if you miss any prayer again you would not have to pay another kaffara, even though missing prayers obviously remains a sinful act.

Furthermore, even if your oath was in the negative, for instance you said, “By Allah I will never miss a prayer,” then upon missing a prayer and paying a kaffara your oath will end as well. Any prayers subsequently missed will not necessitate another kaffara, unless you made another oath after the first kaffara.

It states in the al-Durr al-Mukhtar of ‘Allama Haskafi:

“If one took an oath not do such and such, then he must refrain from it forever.”

If he does what he had (sworn not to do) he will have broken his oath, and his oath will now be ended. What has been mentioned in Sharh al-Majma’ that the oath will not end is an error. Hence, if he was to do the thing again (which he had sworn not to do) he will not be considered as having broken an oath, except in the case of (using the term) kullama (i.e. “every time” or “each time” as part of the oath).

If one swore that he will surely do such-and-such, and then does it once, he is freed from his oath. (al-Durr al-Mukhtar 3:135).

One more point to remember is that one can only resort to fasting three days
for the kaffara if unable to do any of the following:

1. Freeing a slave
2. Clothing ten poor people, giving each of them one garment or more.
(Please review previous answers for more details on this)
3. Feeding ten poor people two meals each.

Only when incapable of observing the above can one resort to fasting three days.

And Allah knows best

Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

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Dr. Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf

Dr. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorised the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialised licence to issue fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from the University of Johannesburg and completed his MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He holds an honorary fellowship at The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has the unique experience of serving as an imam in Muslim communities on both sides of the Atlantic, eight years in Southern California and over five in the great city of London—and his continued work as an international speaker and lecturer enables him to address and offer pertinent advice on current challenges that face Muslims in the West. He is the founder of Whitethread Institute, a post-graduate insititute for Islamic scholars. He is an avid traveller and continues to teach hadith and work on scholarly publications through White Thread Press (www.whitethreadpress.com). Many of his lectures are available on www.zamzamacademy.com and his courses through Rayyan Institute (www.rayyaninstitute.com).