Oaths in Islam

I have heard a lot of Muslims say “I swear on my children that .. ” or ” I swear on my mother .. “. According to Islam, it is unlawful to take an oath by anyone except Allah (SWT). You can only swear by Allah.  So, if you want to take an oath by something then take an oath by Allah (“I swear by Allah” or “wallahi” or “wallahi”).

Nafi’ related from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, met ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab while he was proceeding with a group of riders and he was swearing by his father. He said, ‘Allah forbids you from swearing by your fathers. If someone swears, should swear by Allah or be silent.” (Sahih Bukhari – 6270)

What is an oath?

From what I understand (and may Allah forgive me if I am wrong) an oath (or a vow) is a promise to do something. It can be a promise to stay away from cheese cake or a promise to clean someone’s backyard. However, just saying “I will come and clean your backyard” doesn’t make it an oath. You have to say “I swear by Allah I will do such and such” or “I make it obligatory on myself to keep away from such and such”.

If someone says “Wallahi I will feed 60 people tomorrow, inshallah”, then what he said is not a valid oath. “Inshallah” means “If Allah wills it” so if he didn’t feed 60 people the next day, then that just means Allah didn’t will it so he didn’t feed them. However, this is only valid if he says inshallah without a long pause. If someone says “Wallahi I will feed 60 people tomorrow” then gives a pause and says inshallah, then he will have to feed 60 people the next day or he will have broken his oath.

Conditions for an Oath to be valid:

  • It has to be taken in Allah’s name or his attributes. Oaths in the name of your children, parents, kabah, etc are not valid.
  • The one taking the oath must be sane and mature. Oaths taken by children are vain.
  • The oath/vow is not on something impossible. If you say “I swear I will grow wings on my back and fly” then it won’t be a valid oath.
  • “Inshallah” is not used in it. If someone says “wallahi I will travel to Syria tomorrow inshallah” then it is not a valid oath and the person who said it won’t have to atone for not traveling to Syria the next day.

If you take an oath, you MUST fulfil it. And, you should never take a false oath with Allah as a witness. It is one of the major sins in Islam. Quoted below are some proofs :

Do not make your oaths a means of deceiving one another or your foot will slip after it was firmly placed and you will taste evil for barring access to the Way of Allah and you will have a terrible punishment.” (16:92) Dakhalan means deceit and treachery.

6298. Ash-Sha’bi related from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet*, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The major wrong actions are shirk with Allah, disobeying parents, murder and false oaths.

“Those who sell Allah’s contract and their own oaths for a paltry price, such people will have no portion in the Next World, and on the Day of Rising Allah will not speak to them or look at them or purify them. They will have a painful punishment.” (3:77)

Atonement for Breaking an Oath:

If you vow to do something and you don’t, then you have to atone for it (kaffarah). You can do so by  :

  • Feed 10 people in need. They cannot be from his usul upwards (parent,s grandparents, etc) or downwards (chlildren, grandchildren, etc). You can’t feed one person 10 times. It has to be 10 different people and they all have to be fed on the same day
  • Clothing 10 people in need. The same rules as above apply.
  • Freeing a slave.

If you cannot do any of the above because you are poor, then you can fast for 3 days. In hanafi fiqh, they have to be 3 continuous days. If you fasted the first day but didn’t fast the second and third day then you have to start over again.

Allah does not take you to task for your inadvertent oaths, but He will take you to task for oaths you make intentionally.The expiation in that case is to feed ten poor people with the average amount you feed your family, or clothe them, or free a slave. Anyone without the means to do so should fast three days. That is the expiation for breaking oaths when you have sworn them. Keep your oaths. In this way Allah makes His Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be thankful.(5:89)

What should you do if you break an oath more than once?

A lot of people have asked what should they do if they took an oath and broke it more than once so I decided to include this question in this post.

Let’s say you took an oath to pray one nafl prayer every night. And, you you didn’t pray a nafl prayer in the night after that, then you would have to give kaffarah for it once. Now, the oath is broken so if you  didn’t pray nafl on any night after that,  you would not have to give kaffarah.

However, if you took an oath to pray nafl every night and didn’t pray it one night after that (which broke your oath), then took another oath that you will pray nafl prayer every night and broke your oath again, then you would have to give kaffarah twice. Why? because you broke two oaths.

What about taking an oath on the Qur’an, or Ka’bah or the like

A lot of people have asked me what they should do if they took an oath on Ka’bah or Qur’an or their mother, etc. Taking an oath on anything other than Allah is haram. So, you are not allowed to swear on your mother. However, taking an oath on the Qur’an is a bit more complicated than that. Please refer to the link below regarding this issue.

http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=2847&CATE=32

I have tried to keep this post as brief as possible so it has some details  missing. If you would like to read more on this topic then below are a few links which will help you :

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=2847&CATE=32
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=4028&CATE=12
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=3&ID=13328&CATE=389
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=3353&CATE=12


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142 responses to “Oaths in Islam”

  1. Mahmud Avatar
    Mahmud

    Assalamualaikum. I am trying everyday to be a better Muslim. As part of that effort I need your advise on this aspect.

    Once I was talking to my wife and she made me taking a oath that I won’t talk about a specific topic ever in my life with her. Next day she started talking about that same specific topic and I reminded her about my oath. Then she gave me permission and asked me: first ask for forgiveness to Allah before talking about that topic again.

    In this case is it valid to break/withdraw an oath after asking forgiveness to Allah and with the permission from the person I took the oath for? Do I have to do Kaffara in this case?

  2. Moazzam Avatar

    Walaikum assalam Mahmud,

    If she gave you permission to disregard your oath, then you don’t need to seek forgiveness or pay any kaffarah to the best of my knowledge.

  3. Zubair Avatar
    Zubair

    Asalamualikum, few days ago my father was angry on me and he told me take oath of him,I was scared and took the oath, the oath was that I should not specific game in my phone which made me addicted to it and, I was getting distracted from my studies , now when I asked my father he allowed me to play will, it be a kaffarah? I did know about the oath , which can be only taken for Allah! I took oath oh my father ! Will it be kaffarah !! N will I be in kaffar even if my father allowed me to play the game!
    Jazakallah!!

  4. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Zubair,

    An oath upon your father is not valid (and it is not allowed). You don’t have to pay the kaffarah in your case.

    If your father asks you to take another oath on him, then let him know it is not permissible to do that 🙂 . Oaths are taken only with Allah as a witness and no one else.

  5. Nadine Haris Avatar
    Nadine Haris

    My food addiction has made my life miserable I had therapies, prescription, personal trainers and all that one could do possible to lose weight.But after losing few pounds i go back to seeking refuge in food for all my troubles.ie partner left,lost job,lost business etc.I took an oath in Qoran that I will lose a certain amount of weight in a certain period. But I broke it.I couldnt lose that weight.Now Im so scared , also my life is getting miserable day by day.have no job etc.I think its because of the sin.I will do three fasting but what else can I do to get merci of God.Im very sad.please advise.

  6. admin Avatar
    admin

    Assalamu alaikum Nadine,

    I hope this finds you in better spirits and health. If you broke your oath, you have to pay the kaffarah. You can find the details in this blogpost. If you are going to fast, then that’s all that is needed :). Sin’s do affect a person in this life and in the next. However, Allah is the most merciful. Seek his forgiveness with sincere heart and make a firm conviction that you will never return to any sins and inshallah he will forgive you.

    You may want to consult a doctor for your food addiction as there seems to be an underlying issue there. UK has free healthcare so it should be doable for you. Also, do dhikr as much as possible – while cooking, eating, walking, etc. Anything that doesn’t require you to think much, do dhikr while do it for “Verily, hearts find peace in remembrance of Allah”

  7. Fatima Avatar
    Fatima

    AsalamoAlaikum
    One day i was just mad and sitting so i took an oath but didnt say inshAllah.

    I took an oath that i will not talk to this person again.
    So basically you wrote if you dont say inshAllah, it wont be on me, so it is an oath or not? Because i didnt say inshaAllah i remember it well.
    Do I have to pay the kaffarah still?
    Please guide.

  8. Asma Avatar
    Asma

    Assalam valekum
    I put oath on allha
    To my husband to go my home otherwise i am not coming
    But he is not agree to go to my native
    What does means

  9. Moazzam Avatar

    Walaikum assalam Asma,

    I don’t completely understand your question but I think this is what you are asking.

    If you take an oath saying you will do something and you break it, then you have to pay the kaffarah.

  10. Meena Avatar
    Meena

    I need help. Last year I lost my father and when I saw my mother getting slightly sick I made a promise to Allah swt that I won’t talk to a specific individual and may HE swt bless my mom with health and happiness. And my mother is good AlhumdulilAllah. But I have talked to that person. I shouldn’t have but I was weak. And I talked to that person more than once and I don’t believe I can avoid it in future as well. What should I do as a kafara? I will be fasting for three consecutive days asa I can IA. I have provided a family with food supplies. And I plan on feeding around 60 people at a famous darbar In a day or two IA . Please tell me does this affects my moms well being. I’m paranoid and lost all peace with in. Plz help me . JazakAllah.

  11. Abdullahi yasiin Avatar
    Abdullahi yasiin

    Assalama aleiykum . I promised Allah that I will fast every other day just like prophet Daud (AS). I have kept my promise for a couple of months . I believer about 3 months. It’s getting harder to keep the promise I kept to Allah . Fasting every other day is not something I can do at the moment . I am healthy and young it’s not coz of healthy reasons or not it’s just that it’s so hard to fast every other day . What do I have to do? Do I pay kaffarah or I can’t break this promise ? I asked a sheikh at the mosque I go to but he just couldn’t give me an answer. Told me to come back again coz he will have to check on it . What should I do?

  12. nisa Avatar
    nisa

    Asalamualiakum. I have a question regarding the same topic.What if someone pleads and gives us oath of Allah to do some work. Should I ignore or am I obliged to do it cause he took an oath. I will give u an example like ” I give u an oath of Allah to get my this work done or i give you an oath of Allah to talk to me once”

  13. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Nisa,

    To the best of my knowledge, you are not obligated to fulfill someone else’s oath. If someone says “Wallah, you will do such and such thing”. You are NOT obligated to do it. He is responsible for his oaths and you for yours.

  14. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Abdullahi yasiin,

    I don’t know what the best course of action is, in your situation. I am interested in knowing what your sheikh says regarding this. Can you please let me know what he says so I can learn from this as well.

    Jazakallah Khair

  15. admin Avatar
    admin

    Assalamu alaikum Meena,

    Feeding 10 poor people is enough for breaking an oath. Of course, if you feed more, Allah will give you reward for taking care of the poor 🙂

  16. abdi Avatar

    Asalam aleikum,my name is Abdi,when I was 19years of age I took a blood oarth with my girlfriend and we promise each other to never part ways and if one breaks the oarth he. or she will never be happy and successful.I know its haram but I was young and stupid didn’t know my deen so much. please how can I undo the oarth ?

  17. Amar Avatar
    Amar

    Asalam O Alaikum
    I want to ask that if someone is forcing you to take oath but neither you can take oath nor you can refuse but before taking that particular oath you take another oath in which you ask for forgiveness of the fake oath you are going to take and then take that oath so what is kuffarah for that? Kindly please guide

  18. Rumana Rahman Avatar
    Rumana Rahman

    For any issue I have taken oath of my two children that I have not said this and it was true. Should I pay kaffara and what will be the kaffara

  19. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Amar,

    Oaths don’t work like that. And, Muslims are not allowed to lie.

  20. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Abdi,

    I don’t know much about blood oaths except that there is an exchange of blood and people take an oath.

    Islamically, your oath is not a valid oath so if you were to break it, you wouldn’t have to pay kaffarah. Other than that, nothing can harm you unless Allah permits it. Also, Muslims are not allowed to take oaths on anything except Allah.

  21. Inayat Ashraf Avatar
    Inayat Ashraf

    Hello. I m in a confusion
    I talk normally wd my cousin sister.
    but my father has irritation with her family. Now my father is saying do t talk to her from now. But i feel secured while talking with cousin Sis about happenings going in world. Nobody chats wd me except cousin sis and another one college friend.My father gave me an oath of himself that dont talk wd cousin sis.
    Now i m sad. I m not getting what to do now. But i want to talk wd cousin sis.
    PLZZ CLEAR MY CONFUSION.

  22. Moazzam Avatar
    Moazzam

    Assalamu alaikum Ashraf,

    I don’t understand what your confusion is. Can you elaborate on what you are confused about?

  23. admin Avatar
    admin

    Assalamu alaikum Rumana Rahman,

    Muslims are not allowed to take an oath on anything except Allah. Please don’t take an oath on your children. Your oath is not valid so no kaffarah is required.

  24. Noor Avatar
    Noor

    My best friend is forced me to do one specific thing , which I refused by some reason But she kept on forcing n threatening me due to some reason .. At Last she took oath on that by saying “Wallah will not eat food, until u don’t listen want I asked u to do”
    Is that orth allowed, which have taken in a manner of forcing other person???????
    She is close to me I can’t see her not eating torturing herself n I also can’t do what she’s forcing me to do .
    Plz ..help on that..

  25. Moazzam Avatar
    Moazzam

    If she took an oath, then it is up to her to fulfill it or pay the kaffarah for it (if she breaks it). It doesn’t affect you at all. Her oath is between her and Allah.

  26. Muhammed Avatar
    Muhammed

    Assalamu alikum,
    I smoke ciggs a lot and I try to quit a couple times it never happened and I said my mother wallahi I will never do it again. I stopped for like 3 days and the 4th day I couldn’t stand it and I had to smoke one. So basically I broke that promise and I really have no clue like what to do,

  27. Moazzam Avatar
    Moazzam

    Walaikum assalam Muhammad,

    You will have to pay the kaffarah for breaking your oath.

  28. Disha Choudhury Avatar
    Disha Choudhury

    Assalamualaikum
    I swear it was not my wish, but my evil mind just said it. By mistake I said Wallahi and want a wish from allah but now I don’t want that wish to be fulfilled, for this i can’t be able to concentrate on my studies or anything, i am feeling so low and depressed. I really need your help. Help me sir/mam.

    Allah hu akbar

  29. Tasssss Avatar
    Tasssss

    Okay I Have A Problem In Understanding It.
    I See That We Can Take An Oath When We Are Going To Do Something.
    Now If My Mom Wants To Know The Truth
    She’ll Then Tell Me To Put My Hand In Her Head And Tell Me To Say “Qassam On My Mom And If I Lie She Will Die”
    Is It Just A Fictional Thing?

  30. Disha Avatar
    Disha

    Assalamualikum
    I have a question, by mistake I said wallahi and said one wish. Will it be fulfilled? I give u example like “Wallahi I got cancer or “Wallahi my husband will never love me”.
    Will Allah forgive me for this, how can I do repentance? I don’t want those wish to be fulfilled. Help me

    Allah hu akbar

  31. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam,

    If you said “wallahi, I have cancer” and you don’t have cancer, then you committed a major sin. Seek Allah’ forgiveness and tell the other person the truth.

  32. Shehzadi Avatar
    Shehzadi

    Assalam-o-alaikum

    My best friend forced me to take oath by keeping my hand on Quran & made me repeat oaths he want me to fulfill like for example he said “take oath that u won’t use instagram” “swear to Quran that u will listen to me & if I say no to something u won’t repeat it again” . I can’t stand on a swear like this for my whole life because I want to get separated from him ,I can’t spend my whole life so what should I do of I can’t stand on a swear like this Plsss advice m worried alot..

  33. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Shehzadi,

    You should take oaths very seriously. However, if you find something better after taking the oath then you can break it and do that better thing.

    Here is a hadith from Sahih Muslim (Book 015, Number 4053)

    Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who took an oath and then found another thing better than (this) should expiate for the oath (broken) by him and do (the better thing).

  34. Hameem Avatar
    Hameem

    Salams. I took an oath to avoid a particular type of sin in the name of Allah say for a year. However there have been cloudy moments where I feel like I accidentally broke the oath and each time I’ve given Kaffarah.

    I have avoided taking this oath after these times but does the oat I took stand even after I had given Kaffarah?

    Also does the sin of breaking the oath be forgiven after you give kaffarah?

  35. admin Avatar
    admin

    Walaikum assalam Hameem,

    Whether you have to keep giving kaffarah or not depends on the words of your oath. Generally, if you take an oath and you break it, then you give kaffarah once and you are free of that oath.

    If you said “Wallah, I will not eat ice cream” and you ate ice cream, then you pay kaffarah for breaking the oath. If you eat ice cream again, then you don’t have to pay the kaffarah again.

  36. admin Avatar
    admin

    Assalamu alaikum Tass,

    You are not allowed to take an oath with anyone as a witness except Allah. So, if your mom does that you should let her know that it is not allowed in Islam for you to take an oath on her.

  37. faisal Avatar
    faisal

    assalamwalaikum
    many years ago i took vow that if i didnt watch movie in this week then i will pray some 2 or 4 or may be more i dont remember nafil on every friday after that i didnt pray. after many years when i realised this i ask forgiveness to allah, and i saw in a website (islamqa) that in this situation kaffarah for every friday has to be given and previous missed nafil also now there here hundreds of missed fridays. i was very much tensed and in this situaton i spoke the word” that allah will help me in kaffarah of this and i wil give kaffarah whatever will be with money or with fasting” and i was thinking about hundreds of these missed fridays and after 2 or 4 seconds i said ”in sha allah” am trying to give kaffarah little by little with money

    now please tell me what should i do whether by saying this that i will kaffarah is kaffarah wajib on me by simply saying this i am very much tensed with this issue

  38. Sidheeq K Avatar

    Once I said ” Others are don’t care about this but still by mere doubt I even doing these much allah (an act which I had never did at that time but intented to do ) so that allah forgive me
    I never uttered about the act I just told these much by mentioning it in my heart
    I never intended to make a binding promise in between me and allah but I said this will it count as a promise ?
    If it counts as promise should I fulfill it in my whole life or once is enough ?
    Do I’m punished for each time I broke the promise or the promise dissolves in the first time I broken it
    Please advice me .May Allah bless you

  39. Ada Avatar
    Ada

    Salam Aleykum!
    When I just was starting to practice Islam I was so motivated and felt myself so strong. Those times I promised to Allah (SWT) three things:
    1. To fast every Monday and Thursday
    2. To never listen to music
    3. To never upload my photos on social media.
    And gradually I’ve broken all three.
    When I was promising those things, I was very naive and didn’t give the proper attention to what I was promising.
    Please help me, what do I need to do? Do you think Allah (SWT) is angry with me? Do you think now I’m considered a hypocrite? P.S. I don’t think I can fulfill all of my promises. I’m scared and stressed of what I’ve done.
    Jkh.

  40. Omar Avatar
    Omar

    As salamu walaikum,
    I made an oath to my wife on the name of Allah while I was very angry. Such as: I wont sleep with her again. It’s seemed to me that it was sort of slip of my toung. In the very next moment I realised I made a big mistake by making the oath on Allah’s name because I was angry at my wife. I was angry because my wife denied to engage with me on sexual intercourse repeatedly over few days.
    Do we need to pay Kaffarat if oath made unintentional while we are angry?? If I do what would be my Kaffarat? Zazak Allahu Khairan

  41. Nora Mohamed Avatar

    My 26 year old son has very servere mental illness and I made a oath saying Allah never heals my mentally ill son if I except back the TV I borrowed to his big brother. at the time of the oath I was very upset and emotional crying and angry, but after hours and after I’ve calmed down, I now regret my oath and really need my TV back as I dont have one and my son as brought him self one.
    Please advise me what can I do I’m worried if I break the oath Allah will punish me and never heal my son’s mental illness and he will never be healed.
    If kaffarah is needed could I leave it in the mosque for the neeya to feed 10 poor people please help me I am very upset about this whole thing. Also I live in the UK how much
    kaffarah should I give to a person I am also going to fast 3 days so Allah (SWT)expects my kaffarah .
    Jazakallah Khair

  42. admin Avatar
    admin

    Assalamu alaikum Nora,

    I don’t completely understand your question. You should consult a local imam regarding this matter. May Allah give your son Shifa. Ameen

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