Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri — by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If a person swears an oath that he will repay a debt on a certain day but fails to do so, what is the ruling?
This is not the type of oath for which expiation becomes obligatory. It is an oath taken as a form of assurance — or you may say that it is simply a promise. If the person deliberately does not repay the debt, he will be sinful due to breaking his promise; however, the expiation of an oath does not become necessary upon him.
﴿وَأَوْفُوا بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا﴾
(Sūrah Banī Isrā’īl: 34)
“Fulfil the covenant, for indeed the covenant will be questioned.”
❖ Question
If a person swears an oath that he will repay a debt on a certain day but fails to do so, what is the ruling?
❖ Answer
This is not the type of oath for which expiation becomes obligatory. It is an oath taken as a form of assurance — or you may say that it is simply a promise. If the person deliberately does not repay the debt, he will be sinful due to breaking his promise; however, the expiation of an oath does not become necessary upon him.
❀ The statement of Allah Almighty:
﴿وَأَوْفُوا بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا﴾
(Sūrah Banī Isrā’īl: 34)
“Fulfil the covenant, for indeed the covenant will be questioned.”
