Assalamu alaikum. I was in love with a girl and we use to talk on phone. In the last semester of my engineering, I fell short of my attendance and my professor was not agreeing to make it up. It was a great problem for me as I would have to repeat the whole year. So I prayed to Allah Ta'ala and said to him, " O Allah, Please bring me out of this problem and I promise that I will stop talking to her on phone until our marriage". Allah Ta'ala responded to my dua and my problem was solved. So for some days we stopped talking on phone but after some days we again started talking and indulged in sin. Time has passed on and I have sincerely repented to Allah for breaking my promise. My question is that do I need to pay any expiation for the breaking of my promise or is the repentance enough?? And if I have to pay expiation according to Ayat No 89 of Surah Ma'idah, then can I pay it in the form of Money?? This is because feeding and clothing the poor is very difficult in our part of the world. Please provide the answer with authentic references. I am a follower of the Hanafi Maslak, so please provide the answer compatible with this school of thought. Jazak Allahu Khairan Kaseer.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Not fulfilling a promise which is not accompanied by an oath is considered a bad moral conduct against which the Law Maker [i.e. Allaah] warned us, even if it is made to the people, let alone if it is made to Allaah and it is for avoiding disobeying Him. Therefore, fulfilling such a promise is even more confirmed and breaking it is even more heinous.

Indeed, Allaah praised the believers for being truthful in their covenant with Allaah. Therefore, you are obliged to expiate for breaking your oath because giving a promise to Allaah is considered an oath according to the Hanafi School of jurisprudence as stated by the author of the Hanafi book "Al-Ikhtiyaar". Also, giving the value in expiating for an oath is permissible according to the Hanafi School as well, since you requested to answer your question according to this School.

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 102811 and 82841.

Finally, you are obliged to stop talking to that girl, and regret and repent for what happened between you and her because it is forbidden in Islam to establish an affectionate relationship between the sexes outside marriage as we clarified in Fatwa 81356.

Allaah Knows best.