Have I Broken my Oath?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I took an oath and told Allah that if I do it again, he would throw me in Hellfire and not forgive me. Unfortunately, I broke the oath. What do I do now? This leads me to misgivings.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

I understand it must be something you really wanted to refrain from to make an oath like this with this type of wording. However, one should refrain from this type of wording. Nonetheless, we can all fall into this type. You will give an expiation for breaking the oath.

The Method of the Expiation 

The method of the Expiation of an oath (or vow is as follows):

1. The expiation of an oath is:

• Freeing a slave. (which is not applicable today) or,
• If one wishes, he may clothe ten destitute people, [giving] each of them one garment or more, the minimum of [each] being that in which salah is valid, [or]
• If one wishes, he may feed ten destitute people

2. If one is not capable of any of these three things, one fast for three consecutive days.

[IbnʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar]

You can search for more related answers on SeekersGuidance.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers on OCD and the links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related Answers

• What Are the Words Which Make an Oath Binding? – SeekersGuidance
• Oath Archives – SeekersGuidance
• (122) 30 – Devil’s Tricks – The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained – Sh Faraz Rabbani
• Mental Health Workshop: An Islamic Guide to Dealing with Depression
• Doubts – IPD Session #3 | COJ – an ISIP Youth Chapter Initiative
• The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD
• Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (waswasa) – SeekersGuidance
• A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
• (1) The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD~Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi
• Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health – Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.