Q: A young man offered sincere Tawbah (repentance to Allah) and actually gave up doing a certain sin for about six years. However, he reverted to sinning but the sin that he used to commit was not a major one. He tried to make Tawbah again but he lacked the determination. Therefore, he put his hand on the Mus-haf (copy of the Qur'an) and swore by Allah and the rights of the Glorious Qur'an to stop sinning and not to return to it in the future. Sadly, he committed this sin after a while. Afterwards, he felt great remorse, made Du`a' (supplication) to Allah and wept. He gained the determination to make Tawbah. It may be worth mentioning that the young man continuously performed Salah (Prayer) throughout the entire ordeal. Is his Tawbah acceptable? What is the ruling on that?

A: Firstly, If the reality is as you mentioned, the Tawbah of this young man is valid. We hope that Allah will accept it from him and protect him from sinning in the future. Secondly, The young man must make Kaffarah (expiation) for breaking his oath. The Kaffarah is to feed (Part No. 23; Page No. 84) ten needy people by giving each one half a Sa` (1 Sa`=3 kg. Approx.) of wheat or rice etc., to clothe them, or to free a believing slave. If he is unable to do any of these things, he must observe Sawm (Fast) for three days. Thirdly, It is not permissible to swear by the rights of the Qur'an because the rights of the Qur'an are to honor it and believe that it is the Word of Allah. Thus, such rights are some deeds that we have to do and it is not permissible to swear by a creature or its deeds. Rather, taking an oath is only by Allah (Glorified be He) or by One of His Names or Attributes. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If someone has to take an oath, they should only swear by Allah or be silent." May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.