The Ruling on Keeping One's Promise
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This man says: We hear some people say that keeping a promise is not obligatory. What is the evidence for this view, if it is correct? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in a hadith the sign of the hypocrite, saying: "And when he makes a promise, he breaks it."
Answer:
Keeping a promise is a recommended practice (sunnah) according to the majority of scholars. Some of them, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, held that it is obligatory, basing this on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the description of the hypocrite: "When he makes a promise, he breaks it." The majority hold that this indicates dislike (makruh). The apparent meaning of the hadith is that it indicates prohibition (tahrim). Yes.
This man says: We hear some people say that keeping a promise is not obligatory. What is the evidence for this view, if it is correct? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in a hadith the sign of the hypocrite, saying: "And when he makes a promise, he breaks it."
Answer:
Keeping a promise is a recommended practice (sunnah) according to the majority of scholars. Some of them, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, held that it is obligatory, basing this on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the description of the hypocrite: "When he makes a promise, he breaks it." The majority hold that this indicates dislike (makruh). The apparent meaning of the hadith is that it indicates prohibition (tahrim). Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/245 — archive.org (10:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.