Question
What is considered breaking a promise? Is there atonement for breaking a promise?
Answer
One of the characteristics and qualities of a hypocrite is that,
“When he promises, he breaks his promise.” (Bukhaary, 33)
The meaning of this is that when he makes a promise, he intends to break it. As for when a person promises something and intends to keep it and then something happens which prevents him from keeping his promise, then the scholars assert that this is not from the characteristics of a hypocrite. In any case, when a person promises something and then breaks his promise intending to do so initially, he has the qualities of a hypocrite. The atonement for it is to repent and seek Allaah’s Forgiveness, because a sin is wiped away through repentance.