The Expiation for Breaking a Covenant with Allah Not to Return to Sin
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner asks: What is the ruling on a person who makes a covenant with himself before Allah not to return to a sin, but then returns to it a second time? Does he owe an expiation for that? And what is his obligation regarding rectifying himself according to the Shari'ah?
Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory for him to keep his oath if he has sworn one; he must keep it and not break it except for a reason, a permissible reason or a recommended reason, otherwise he must keep it. Allah the Exalted said, “And keep your oaths to Allah.” If he breaks it, and it is a covenant with Allah, or “by the covenant of Allah,” that is an oath, meaning a covenant with Allah is an oath. If he violates it, he must expiate for his oath. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner asks: What is the ruling on a person who makes a covenant with himself before Allah not to return to a sin, but then returns to it a second time? Does he owe an expiation for that? And what is his obligation regarding rectifying himself according to the Shari'ah?
Answer:
Yes, it is obligatory for him to keep his oath if he has sworn one; he must keep it and not break it except for a reason, a permissible reason or a recommended reason, otherwise he must keep it. Allah the Exalted said, “And keep your oaths to Allah.” If he breaks it, and it is a covenant with Allah, or “by the covenant of Allah,” that is an oath, meaning a covenant with Allah is an oath. If he violates it, he must expiate for his oath. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/220 — archive.org (9:04)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.