Making an Oath in order to Abstain from Prohibitions Fatwa No: 522652
- Fatwa Date:4-12-2025
If I said "Wallahi if I smoke again ,everyday my whole life I will avoid listening to music" , only to make a punishment on myself to deter me, does it mean if I smoke I have to expiate everyday I listen to music?
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 (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) is His slave and Messenger.
Smoking and listening to music are prohibited in Shariah, and this prohibition becomes more certain if a person swears to refrain from them, due to the seriousness of breaking an oath in this case. Ibn Qudamah () said in Al-Mughni: “Whenever an oath is made to perform an obligatory act or to refrain from a prohibited act, breaking it is forbidden, because breaking it by committing a prohibited act is itself forbidden.”
Thus, if someone swears to abstain from a sin, it becomes prohibited for them to deliberately break that oath. Furthermore, it is obligatory in all cases, to uphold the sanctities of Allah by refraining from forbidden acts, whether one has sworn or not.
However, if one does break the oath by returning to smoking or listening to music, only one expiation (kaffarah) for the oath is required, because the wording of the oath does not necessitate repeating the expiation for repeated violations. Once the kaffarah is performed, the oath is considered discharged. Nevertheless, one must repent and resolve not to return to these forbidden acts in any case.
Allah knows best.