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

Does a person's failure to adhere to a vow they made to themselves, followed by an oath swearing inability to fulfill it (such as not watching a particular series), necessitate expiation?
Am I required to offer expiation, after I pledged to God not to use the prayer beads (masbahah), but then I went back to using them because I felt remiss in remembrance (dhikr) without them?
Is it permissible to be released from an oath whose time has not yet come, which stipulates donating a portion of one's salary to orphans and memorizers of the Quran after completing education and starting work?
What is the ruling on not fulfilling a vow to give monthly charity on behalf of one's mother due to debts, and what about the past years, and until when must one continue to fulfill it?
What is the ruling on distributing vowed rak'ahs over many days, and how can one atone for ill-treatment of Allah due to not fulfilling the vow properly?
Does using the elevator after swearing not to use it, out of fear of God's wrath, despite being compelled to do so, constitute an act that angers God?
What is the ruling on someone who says: "I covenant with Allah that I shall live for Allah and die for Allah"? And is anything binding upon him?
What is the ruling on one who vowed to pray four additional rak'ahs if he is late for the obligatory prayer, and is it permissible for him to pray them quickly or to change the manner of their performance, and what if his intention changed so that he began to pray out of fear of these rak'ahs, not out of love for prayer?
Does the emotional, illicit online relationship that the questioner engaged in constitute a violation of his covenant with Allah not to commit Zina (fornication/adultery) which necessitates a Hudd (prescribed punishment), and is an expiation due from him?
What is the ruling on a vow in which my relative vowed to pray until she committed to prayer, but she was unable to commit to it and stopped praying, and what is its expiation?
What should you do if you are certain about having sworn an oath, but you doubt the details of this oath, such as the period for which you committed yourself?
Is one who made a covenant with Allah to abandon masturbation, then returned to it after four months, considered among the hypocrites, and what should he do to repent?
What is the ruling on making frequent covenants of obedience to oneself, such as a Muslim covenanting with his Lord to perform a specific act of obedience for a set period and then renewing this covenant after its expiration? And is frequent covenanting considered disliked?
What is the ruling on one who made a covenant with Allah to abandon masturbation, then returned to it? And is an expiation for breaking an oath obligatory upon him?
Is it permissible for someone who has vowed to memorize a specific number of hadiths or texts to memorize more if they find themselves capable, or must they adhere to the number they vowed?
What is incumbent upon someone who vowed to pray one hundred rak'ahs whenever they committed a specific sin, then became unable to fulfill this vow after the sin was repeated many times, the number of which they cannot enumerate? And is a single expiation sufficient for them, or multiple expiations?
Does committing masturbation in a dream, accompanied by a feeling of awakening and uncertainty of consciousness, after repentance and making a covenant with Allah to abandon it, constitute a breach of the covenant and necessitate sin, knowing that there was no fluid and no ejaculation?
What is to be done if someone swore to do something but then became unable to do it and fell asleep, and this has happened to them many times; does an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) become obligatory upon them?
What is the ruling on someone who recited a complete oath formula without intention, then said "in sha'" and did not complete "Allah" (for exception), then thought he said "la" for exception? And does anything result from that? And what is the ruling on someone who swore not to wash a limb before sleeping, then performed ablution and thought that limb became slightly wet without being washed? And what if he became certain it was wet, does an expiation become incumbent upon him?
What is the method for fulfilling a vow to feed 50 needy persons if the father is cured, what is the amount of food, is it permissible to provide it from restaurants, when must it be fulfilled, and must they be fed all at once?
What is the ruling on not fulfilling a vow to recite the Qur’an daily and to pay a certain amount if one fails to adhere to it? And does Allah become angry with someone who does not fulfill his vow?
Is leaving the 'Isha prayer and sleeping through it, then making it up the following day, considered a violation of a vow never to abandon prayer, knowing that the intention was never to completely forsake prayer?
Is expiation (kaffarah) obligatory for someone who swore not to memorize a part of the lesson, but then memorized it unintentionally?
Did you break your oath after someone extinguished the light switch before you, and then you made him turn it on again so you could extinguish it?

Oaths and Vows

Does a person's failure to adhere to a vow they made to themselves, followed by an oath swearing inability to fulfill it (such as not watching a particular series), necessitate expiation?

Am I required to offer expiation, after I pledged to God not to use the prayer beads (masbahah), but then I went back to using them because I felt remiss in remembrance (dhikr) without them?

Is it permissible to be released from an oath whose time has not yet come, which stipulates donating a portion of one's salary to orphans and memorizers of the Quran after completing education and starting work?

What is the ruling on not fulfilling a vow to give monthly charity on behalf of one's mother due to debts, and what about the past years, and until when must one continue to fulfill it?

What is the ruling on distributing vowed rak'ahs over many days, and how can one atone for ill-treatment of Allah due to not fulfilling the vow properly?

Does using the elevator after swearing not to use it, out of fear of God's wrath, despite being compelled to do so, constitute an act that angers God?

What is the ruling on someone who says: "I covenant with Allah that I shall live for Allah and die for Allah"? And is anything binding upon him?

Does the emotional, illicit online relationship that the questioner engaged in constitute a violation of his covenant with Allah not to commit Zina (fornication/adultery) which necessitates a Hudd (prescribed punishment), and is an expiation due from him?

What is the ruling on a vow in which my relative vowed to pray until she committed to prayer, but she was unable to commit to it and stopped praying, and what is its expiation?

What should you do if you are certain about having sworn an oath, but you doubt the details of this oath, such as the period for which you committed yourself?

Is one who made a covenant with Allah to abandon masturbation, then returned to it after four months, considered among the hypocrites, and what should he do to repent?

What is the ruling on making frequent covenants of obedience to oneself, such as a Muslim covenanting with his Lord to perform a specific act of obedience for a set period and then renewing this covenant after its expiration? And is frequent covenanting considered disliked?

What is the ruling on one who made a covenant with Allah to abandon masturbation, then returned to it? And is an expiation for breaking an oath obligatory upon him?

Is it permissible for someone who has vowed to memorize a specific number of hadiths or texts to memorize more if they find themselves capable, or must they adhere to the number they vowed?

Does committing masturbation in a dream, accompanied by a feeling of awakening and uncertainty of consciousness, after repentance and making a covenant with Allah to abandon it, constitute a breach of the covenant and necessitate sin, knowing that there was no fluid and no ejaculation?

What is to be done if someone swore to do something but then became unable to do it and fell asleep, and this has happened to them many times; does an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) become obligatory upon them?

What is the method for fulfilling a vow to feed 50 needy persons if the father is cured, what is the amount of food, is it permissible to provide it from restaurants, when must it be fulfilled, and must they be fed all at once?

What is the ruling on not fulfilling a vow to recite the Qur’an daily and to pay a certain amount if one fails to adhere to it? And does Allah become angry with someone who does not fulfill his vow?

Is leaving the 'Isha prayer and sleeping through it, then making it up the following day, considered a violation of a vow never to abandon prayer, knowing that the intention was never to completely forsake prayer?

Is expiation (kaffarah) obligatory for someone who swore not to memorize a part of the lesson, but then memorized it unintentionally?

Did you break your oath after someone extinguished the light switch before you, and then you made him turn it on again so you could extinguish it?