What Should I Do If I Break A Promise I Made To Allah?

Question: Assalamu ‘alaykum. I have made a promise to Allah to stop talking to this person unless I married him due to our haram relations, but my problem is I do not remember if I said to Allah “unless I married him.” I finally responded back and told him what hurt me and etc, and I regret breaking my promise. Do I need to expiate the number of times I talked to him?

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

No, the promise you made to Allah does not need an expiation. Promises are not oaths. They have no legal consequence.

I do encourage you to turn to Allah and ask forgiveness for anything wrong that may have happened with this individual. Use the bad feelings you have to motivate you to repent and ask for forgiveness. Allah is kind and forgiving, and he accepts those who turn to Him in remorse.

Make your mind up to never do it again. That’s the best way to compensate for the broken promise!

Please see:

https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/oaths/promises-vs-vows-and-oaths/

https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/hanafi-fiqh/breaking-promises-in-islam/

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.