What is the ruling regarding someone who made a covenant with Allah to abandon a specific act, linking it to fasting a day if they committed it, then forgot and broke their covenant? Are they required to fast the aforementioned day, or offer an expiation for breaking an oath, or is nothing incumbent upon them?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The statement "I vow to God for such-and-such" falls under the ruling of a vow of obstinacy and anger, in which one has the choice between fulfilling it or paying expiation. If the sworn-upon action is done out of forgetfulness, the preponderant opinion is that nothing is binding upon you. However, fasting for a day or paying expiation is more cautious to avoid scholarly disagreement.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/140680
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 140680
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy