Question:
I said I would not do something and swore by the Quran. I ended up doing it. I am making Du’a (supplication). Is there any expiation for this?”
Answer:
Regarding oaths, two things need to be understood. First, one should only swear by Allahﷻ . Swearing by the Quran, the Kaaba, etc., is prohibited. The Prophetﷺﷺ said, “Whoever swears by other than Allahﷻ has committed an act of Shirk (polytheism).” This is a major sin. So, swearing by the Quran itself was a mistake. If the oath itself is invalid and sinful, then breaking it does not incur the same penalty as breaking a valid oath.
In the early days, the companions used to swear by the Kaaba. When the Prophetﷺﷺ became aware, he instructed them to instead say, “By the Lord of the Kaaba.” He redirected them to swear by Allahﷻ , not the building. So, the first issue is the oath was wrong. The expiation for swearing by something other than Allahﷻ is to repent and say “La ilaha illAllahﷻ ” (there is no god but Allahﷻ ), affirming that only Allahﷻ is worthy of worship and that the Quran and Kaaba are not deities.
If you had sworn by Allahﷻ and then broke it, then there is an expiation: feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a slave. If none of these are possible, then fasting for three days. That is the rule for breaking a valid oath by Allahﷻ . Since your oath was invalid, you just need to repent and say “La ilaha illAllahﷻ .”