Vowed to Fast 30 Days If She Breaks Her Oath
Fatwa No: 446746

Question

Asalamu aleikum may Allah accept your deeds I had a question plz help me I took an oath that I will fast for 30 days if I watch dirty things but don't remember if I send conservatively. I broke my oath by watching it. I always took an oath of fasting 30 days for doing another bad deed. And I did it and that is 60 days of fasting, what should I do I asked Allah for forgiveness and I know I have to fulfill the oath That I made, pray for me Allah to show me the right path, my question is I can't fast for 60 days what else can I offer for me to fulfill this 60 days that I can't fast, please explain for me the solution, may Allah reward u for ur good intention for helping Muslims, I also read that if anyone breaks an oths has to do fast 3 days of feed 10 needy or clothes them or free a slave can I feed 10 needy and another 10 needy for breaking the two oath, shukran jazakAllah kheyr please help me as soon as possible shukran

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, you must repent to Allah Almighty from watching what is forbidden, and whoever repents, Allah will accept his repentance.

With regard to the oath and breaking it, then your oath is called by the jurists the oath of Lijaj, which is a vow made in order to prevent oneself from doing something or urge oneself to do something.

We have clarified in previous Fataawa that if a person makes an oath and then breaks it, he is given the choice between fulfilling what he made an oath on, and expiating for it an expiation of breaking an oath.

Ibn Qudamah said in Al-Mughni: “If one makes a vow/oath, either to prevent himself or anyone else from doing something by making the oath, or to urge himself to do something by making this oath, such as saying: ‘If I speak to so and so, I have to offer Hajj to Allah, or give charity [by donating a given amount of money], or fast for a whole year, then this is an oath. Its ruling is that he has the choice to either do what he has vowed to do; in which case, he is not required to do anything else, or to break his vow; in which case, he has the choice to do what he has vowed to do, or to expiate for breaking his vow (oath). This is called the oath of Lijaaj and anger. He is not obliged to fulfill it; one is only required to fulfill the oath of Tabarrur – which we will discuss in its Chapter. This is the view of ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Aa’ishah, Hafsah, and Zaynab bint Abu Salamah.” [End of quote]

Therefore, you have the choice to either fast the fasting that you have mentioned in your oath [30 days], or to expiate an expiation of breaking the oath; which is to feed ten poor people, or to cloth them, or to free a slave. If one is not able to do any of the above, then he has to fast three days, as Allah Says (what means): {So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required].} [Quran 5:89]

For more benefit on breaking an oath and expiating for it, please refer to Fatawa 367117, 356647, 102811, 138168, 96130, 311782, 136842 and 252961.

Allah Knows best.

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