The expiation (kaffārah) for breaking a vow

Question

If one made a future vow for example, ‘Wallahi, I will not go there tommorow’ and for some reason, he breaks his vow. What is the Kaffarah for it?

— Muhammad, Preston, England

Answer

In the case that someone has made such a vow and then breaks it, he is to pay the expiation or kaffārah in its place. The kaffārah of a broken vow is mentioned explicitly in the Noble Qur'ān as Allāh Almighty states:

لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ فَكَفَّـٰرَتُهُۥٓ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَـٰكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍۢ ۖ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَـٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ كَفَّـٰرَةُ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ ۚ

“Allāh does not hold you accountable for the meaningless in your oaths, but He shall hold you accountable for what you have intended of the oaths. Its expiation is feeding ten needy people from the average of what you feed your own families, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. Thus, for he who does not find, are fasts of three days. That is the expiation for your oaths when you have vowed. And safeguard your oaths!” [Sūrah al-Mā’idah: 89]

In this ayah of the Qur’ān, it is evident that in the case of a broken vow, man initially has three options for expiation: he may choose to feed the needy, clothe them, or free a slave. In the case wherein he lacks the resources or capability to fulfill any one of these three, he is granted permission to fast for three days consecutively to expiate his broken vow.

Furthermore, having learned the proper method of expiation for broken vows, the people must also pay mind to avoiding the habit of habitual vows which has spread its roots within the Muslim people. Many people have made qasm to be just another part of their speech and daily dialogue, and due to habit, many are often making oaths which they know to be false by saying, “wAllah!” This is certainly not a preferable practice, and Allāh knows best.

Faqīr Sayyid `Abdul Ṣamad al-Qādirī · (may he be pardoned) · Jumādā al-'Ākhirah 9, 1446 AH