O Shaykh, may Allah reward you. We said that a promise is a covenant, and that a covenant must be fulfilled.

The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you! We said that a promise is a covenant and that a covenant must be fulfilled. If a man makes an exception in his promise and says "if Allah wills," and he must say this in every case because a promise concerns the future, and he did not fulfill the promise, does he owe anything? And how does the listener distinguish whether this promise was intended to be fulfilled?

The Shaykh : On the surface, he owes nothing. This is because the person who heard him say "if Allah wills" knows that he did not intend full fulfillment, unless the addressee understood from his saying "if Allah wills" that it was intended to be fulfilled, because it is sometimes said to indicate fulfillment.

The questioner : But Shaykh, how does the listener distinguish?

The Shaykh : According to the context, according to the context. And perhaps the gesture of the one making the promise indicates this. "If Allah wills, if Allah wills," he says this with his hand. What is the meaning? Fulfillment.

The questioner : Is a promise a contract?

The Shaykh : Yes, because it is a contract between the one making the promise and the one to whom it is made.