How Many Expiations Are Due upon Me for Breaking Multiple Oaths?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I took an oath not to do a certain action, then made another oath not to break the first. If I broke the oath, how many expiations do I need to offer?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
By performing the action that you have sworn to not do you will break two oaths: (1) the oath to not do the action, (2) the oath to not break your oath.
Caution will entail you performing two expiations. [Haskafi, Durr al-Mukhtar]
Nonetheless, according to a very strong position in the Hanafi School, one expiation is enough to expiate several broken oaths. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Please see: Am I Sinful for Breaking My Oath to Allah? for more details.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.