Assalaamu alaykum. I was very upset and depressed one day. In this situation, I swore on the Quran not to get married if my brother would not receive my call in the time required for performing ablution and praying the 'Asr. I performed ablution and, as I stood for the prayer, I was crying and asked Allaah to please forgive me as I cannot fullfill this. Then I offered the prayer and called my brother. He answered and said hello and then ended the call. Later on, he texted that as he was sleeping he was not able to talk. Please tell me, as I am very upset, am I bound by my oath, or am I not, as my brother was sleeping and his phone was not with him. I made a mistake, but I repent and admit that I am guilty. Please answer soon.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Firstly, we would like to underline that swearing on the Quran is a binding oath, because the Quran is the Speech of Allah, and speech is one of His Divine Attributes (an oath is valid and binding only when made by Allah or by His Names and Attributes). The Hanbali book Al-Iqnaa‘ reads, "If the person makes an oath on the Speech of Allah, the Quran, the Mus-haf (copy of the Quran), a chapter or verse of the Quran, or the refined status of the Quran, then that is a valid and binding oath, and breaking it entails the due expiation of breaking an oath."

You bear no sin for taking such an oath, as taking an oath is permissible; however, it is disliked to make oaths frequently. Ibn Qudaamah wrote, "Excessive swearing by the name of Allah is disliked; Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer.} [Quran 68:10] This rebuke intended in the verse by describing such a person as 'worthless' entails deeming such an act disliked."

If your brother did not receive your call in the manner that you intended in your oath, then the oath remains binding. If you break the oath and did not do what you had sworn to do, namely refrain from getting married, then you are liable for an expiation. Please refer to fatwa 102811 about the expiation for breaking the oath.

It is recommended to break such an oath; Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Verily, I swear by Allah, if Allah wills, I shall not swear to do something but that if I consider something else to be better than it, then I shall make expiation for my oath and adopt the thing that is better." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

An-Nawawi wrote, "These ahaadeeth indicate that when someone makes an oath to do something or refrain from doing something and then finds that breaking such an oath is better than fulfilling it, it is recommended to break it, and he is then liable for the expiation for breaking an oath." [Sharh Saheeh Muslim]

Allah knows best.