Oaths and Vows

This subtopic gathers questions on swearing by God and breaking an oath, with its expiation. It also holds vows, their binding force and expiation, and conditional oaths that are not divorce formulas.

Questions readers ask here:

Oaths sworn by divorce belong under Divorce Wording, Oaths and Conditions.

172 questions

What is the ruling regarding someone who pledged to pray Qiyam al-Layl and confirmed it with a thumbprint, then forgot his commitment for a period? How does he atone for the days he forgot, and is a single expiation sufficient, and what is the obligatory expiation?
Is it obligatory to fulfill a vow to pray two Rak'ahs of gratitude daily after learning of their unlawfulness, or is a prostration of gratitude sufficient, or is it not obligatory to fulfill the vow?
What is the ruling on someone who, in the past, vowed to dedicate a monthly sum from his salary to collect papers from magazines and newspapers containing the names of Allah Almighty and Qur'anic verses from the streets, but then found it impossible to fulfill the vow due to the lack of assistants and people's misunderstanding of his objective? What should he do, and what are the legal implications for him?
Is an expiatory offering (kaffarat yamin) obligatory upon someone who swore not to perform a specific act, then performed part of it without completing it, meaning the result of the act did not materialize?
Is a covenant with God to perform supererogatory prayers considered a vow, and what is incumbent upon one who makes such a covenant and then falls short in fulfilling it?
Must the pledged amount be paid—regarding the practice of masturbation—if a light fluid is discharged unintentionally while changing body position?
Does the statement: "O Lord, do not hold me accountable for any covenant I have made with You" relieve the supplicant from the covenants he has broken with Allah, or is something required of him to fulfill them?
Must I repeat the expiation along with the obsessive doubt of frequent oaths after having atoned for them?
What is the ruling of Sharia on entering a room after swearing not to enter it? And how much expiation is required from one who swore not to go to forbidden places and then broke his oath, especially since he said: "If I break my oath, I owe an expiation for every step I take towards the forbidden"?
What is the ruling on one who vowed that Allah would make him bewildered in this world and the Hereafter if he did not fulfill a promise he made with Allah, and then felt distressed in the Haram, and expiation for an oath or a vow did not benefit him, and he is still living in a state of despair and depression?
Is it permissible to vow to pray 10 rak'ahs every time I talk about an unimportant matter or joke with friends during a specific period, with the allowance to postpone fulfilling the vow until after this period ends, and is this vow considered among recurring vows that necessitate a single expiation or multiple expiations?
How can one atone for numerous unfulfilled vows and false oaths, so as to expiate their sins?
What is the ruling on one who swore an oath to stop touching pimples, then returned to doing so? Is expiation required of him? And is his action considered unlawful as a form of self-harm, knowing that he finds comfort in it and it might be a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Is it obligatory to fulfill a vow of performing the night vigil (Qiyam al-Layl) at a specific time (3:0 AM), or is it permissible to make it up at another time before Fajr for convenience? And is a vow a debt that must be paid?
Does breaking a promise I made with Allah—similar to the covenant mentioned in the verse: "And those who break the covenant of Allah after contracting it..."—make me among those included in the curse mentioned in the verse, or is only an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) required of me?
What is the required expiation for someone who swore not to do something specific, then did it and repented, then returned to it again, and does feeding 10 poor people count as expiation for a covenant with Allah?
What is the ruling on someone who made a vow seventeen years ago to pray twenty rak'ahs, then prayed them fifteen years later, and then two years after that doubted whether he had performed them or not, with a strong presumption that he had performed them? Should he act upon this strong presumption or repeat the prayer?
What is the ruling on a vow made by someone who abandons prayer due to negligence and laziness, including the views of the jurisprudential schools of thought, especially the Hanbali school?
How can a Muslim woman fulfill all the oaths she has sworn, yet does not remember all of them?
What should one do who has covenanted with Allah to spend his life and wealth for the sake of Al-Aqsa, but then feels he has broken his covenant when he neglects his studies or efforts and wastes his time on matters that do not serve his goals?
If a person makes a covenant with Allah to abandon something forbidden, then commits it, then offers expiation for that covenant, and continues to commit the forbidden act, is he accountable only for the sin of disobedience, or for both the sin of disobedience and breaking the covenant?
What is entailed upon me after I said, "As long as I am healthy, I will pray four rak'ahs to Allah after Maghrib, two by two," knowing that I did not intend it as a vow, and should I pray them directly after Maghrib or whenever it is convenient for me, and must I obligate myself to them?
How could Sufyan al-Thawri's use of mental reservations be permissible when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Your oath is according to what your companion believes it to be true"? And did Sufyan al-Thawri err by doing so?
Is what happened considered a vow that must be fulfilled, and is expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat yamin) required if it is not fulfilled, and is the expiation repeated with the repetition of the sin, knowing that I suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Oaths and Vows

What is the ruling regarding someone who pledged to pray Qiyam al-Layl and confirmed it with a thumbprint, then forgot his commitment for a period? How does he atone for the days he forgot, and is a single expiation sufficient, and what is the obligatory expiation?

Is it obligatory to fulfill a vow to pray two Rak'ahs of gratitude daily after learning of their unlawfulness, or is a prostration of gratitude sufficient, or is it not obligatory to fulfill the vow?

Is an expiatory offering (kaffarat yamin) obligatory upon someone who swore not to perform a specific act, then performed part of it without completing it, meaning the result of the act did not materialize?

Is a covenant with God to perform supererogatory prayers considered a vow, and what is incumbent upon one who makes such a covenant and then falls short in fulfilling it?

Must the pledged amount be paid—regarding the practice of masturbation—if a light fluid is discharged unintentionally while changing body position?

Does the statement: "O Lord, do not hold me accountable for any covenant I have made with You" relieve the supplicant from the covenants he has broken with Allah, or is something required of him to fulfill them?

Must I repeat the expiation along with the obsessive doubt of frequent oaths after having atoned for them?

How can one atone for numerous unfulfilled vows and false oaths, so as to expiate their sins?

What is the ruling on one who swore an oath to stop touching pimples, then returned to doing so? Is expiation required of him? And is his action considered unlawful as a form of self-harm, knowing that he finds comfort in it and it might be a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Is it obligatory to fulfill a vow of performing the night vigil (Qiyam al-Layl) at a specific time (3:0 AM), or is it permissible to make it up at another time before Fajr for convenience? And is a vow a debt that must be paid?

Does breaking a promise I made with Allah—similar to the covenant mentioned in the verse: "And those who break the covenant of Allah after contracting it..."—make me among those included in the curse mentioned in the verse, or is only an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) required of me?

What is the required expiation for someone who swore not to do something specific, then did it and repented, then returned to it again, and does feeding 10 poor people count as expiation for a covenant with Allah?

What is the ruling on a vow made by someone who abandons prayer due to negligence and laziness, including the views of the jurisprudential schools of thought, especially the Hanbali school?

How can a Muslim woman fulfill all the oaths she has sworn, yet does not remember all of them?

What should one do who has covenanted with Allah to spend his life and wealth for the sake of Al-Aqsa, but then feels he has broken his covenant when he neglects his studies or efforts and wastes his time on matters that do not serve his goals?

If a person makes a covenant with Allah to abandon something forbidden, then commits it, then offers expiation for that covenant, and continues to commit the forbidden act, is he accountable only for the sin of disobedience, or for both the sin of disobedience and breaking the covenant?

What is entailed upon me after I said, "As long as I am healthy, I will pray four rak'ahs to Allah after Maghrib, two by two," knowing that I did not intend it as a vow, and should I pray them directly after Maghrib or whenever it is convenient for me, and must I obligate myself to them?

How could Sufyan al-Thawri's use of mental reservations be permissible when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Your oath is according to what your companion believes it to be true"? And did Sufyan al-Thawri err by doing so?

Is what happened considered a vow that must be fulfilled, and is expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat yamin) required if it is not fulfilled, and is the expiation repeated with the repetition of the sin, knowing that I suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder?