What is the ruling on breaking an oath sworn to perform an obligatory act or abandon a forbidden act?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Oaths
Primary text
Breaking an oath sworn to perform an obligatory act or to abstain from a forbidden act is forbidden (muharram). This is because the act of breaking the oath involves committing a forbidden act. If the oath was sworn regarding performing a recommended (mandub) act or abandoning a disliked (makruh) act, breaking it is disliked (makruh). If the oath concerns performing a permissible (mubah) act, breaking it is permissible (mubah).