Making a Covenant with Allah Not to Sin, Then Breaking It من عاهد الله ألا يعصيه ثم عصاه

(audio unclear) This brother says: what is the ruling on a man who made a covenant with Allah that he would not disobey [Him], then [disobeyed Him]? And is there an expiation (kaffarah) upon me?

First, it is obligatory upon the servant to refrain from sins, from acts of disobedience, even if he did not make a covenant with Allah — in response to the command of Allah and in response to the command of His Messenger ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said to 'A'ishah: "O 'A'ishah, beware of the sins that are thought insignificant, for they have a seeker from Allah." Imam Ahmad related it in his Musnad with an authentic chain. Sins blind the heart and deafen it, and come between it and discernment. Allah, majestic and exalted is He, says: "No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning."

Among what is mentioned of 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak is that he would cite [these lines]:

I have seen that sins cause hearts to die, and persisting in them can bequeath humiliation. Leaving sins is the life of hearts, and it is best for your soul that you disobey it.

And as another said — and this is also narrated from 'Ali:

The pleasure passes from the one who attained his desire through the forbidden, and the sin and the shame remain. Evil consequences remain in its aftermath; there is no good in a pleasure after which comes the Fire.

As some of the Salaf said: "Do not look at the smallness of the sin, but look at the greatness of the One you disobeyed." To the degree that a person thinks little of the sin, finds it palatable, and is careless [about it], it becomes grave with Allah — not because the sin changes its ruling, but because the servant disobeys Allah and does not care.

There is a class of people who, when they are hidden, disobey Allah, and when they are before others, make a show of not disobeying Allah. Allah, majestic and exalted is He, censured them with His statement: "They conceal [themselves] from the people, but they cannot conceal [themselves] from Allah, and He is with them." "He is with them" means: Allah, majestic and exalted is He, is with you; you are not absent from His knowledge. So it is obligatory upon the servant to be mindful of Allah's watching (muraqabah), majestic and exalted is He, and this is among the greatest stations of "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help": the station of muraqabah. "When they spend the night [planning] what He does not approve of speech." Whoever's outward is better than his inward may be ruined. The inward must be (audio unclear) righteous: just as he makes a show of righteousness with his tongue, the inward must be righteous. Do not deceive; the people will not avail you against Allah at all.

If the servant makes a covenant with his Lord not to disobey Him, the obligation is greater and the abandonment [of sin] more emphatic. And if he commits the sin after having made a covenant with Allah, his sin is greater, and it is obligatory upon him to seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him, and his repentance should consist of two things. The first: repentance from the sin. The second: repentance from breaking the covenant. Allah, majestic and exalted is He, said: "And do not break oaths after their confirmation." And the greatest of oaths is what you make between yourself and your Lord.

Greater than this is that a person makes a covenant with Allah that [if] such-and-such is achieved for him, he will certainly do such-and-such; then, when such-and-such is achieved for him, he does not do such-and-such. This is greater than the previous one, and it is feared for this person that Allah will seal his heart. This is what is meant by the statement of Allah, majestic and exalted is He: "And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], 'If He gives us from His bounty, we will surely give charity and will surely be among the righteous.' But when He gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it" — that is, when Allah, majestic and exalted is He, gave them what they had covenanted with Allah about. This one made a covenant with Allah, saying, "If He gives me from His bounty, I will surely give charity and will surely be among the righteous," and he lies. When Allah gave him wealth and lavished upon him blessings outward and inward, he did not fulfil what he had covenanted with Allah. Therefore Allah [said] about this kind: "(audio unclear) hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him, because they failed Allah in (audio unclear) and because they used to lie."

This shows that if a person makes a promise to Allah and does not fulfil it after Allah, majestic and exalted is He, has given him what he covenanted with Allah about, Allah, majestic and exalted is He, (audio unclear) hypocrisy on account of his lying. This is among the greatest things that should frighten the Muslim. If he is unable to fulfil, he should not make a covenant; he should supplicate to Allah, and if He gives him, (audio unclear).

On this basis, the man who made a covenant with Allah not to disobey [Him] and then disobeyed Him — is there an expiation [upon him] or not? [There are two] views of the scholars. The first view: that the covenant is equivalent to an oath, so the expiation is binding upon him — or it is equivalent to [one who] swears by Allah. [If] he says, "I make a covenant with You, my Lord, not to disobey You," (audio unclear) he says, "By Allah, I will not disobey You." The second view: that the covenant is a promise and not an oath — the second, that the covenant is a promise and not an oath — and according to this view no expiation is obligatory. What is more cautious for the Muslim is to make an expiation for his covenant, to clear his liability, and to follow the bad deed with a good deed that will wipe it out.

النص العربي الأصلي