Question Summary:
If I said I will not call my friend and then called him is it considered breaking an oath?

Question Detail:

I said I would not call a friend of mine till he brings back a book that belong to me but if we meet or he calls me, I will answer and we would have a conversation. After a week, I called him. My question is what I said, was it an oath?, and do I have to repent for what I did.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
No, it is not an oath.
An oath is that which is taken with one of the Names of Allah or one of His Attributes or on the Quran to do something or to leave something.
For example, a person says: “I swear by Allah to do such and such” or “I swear on the Quran to leave such and such.”
While both of the above are examples of valid and binding oaths, one should avoid taking oaths on the Quran as it is not appropriate to do so.
It is only appropriate to take an oath with one of the Names of Allah or one of His Attributes. [i][ii]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Sohail ibn Arif,
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
 
قوله لا يقسم بغير الله تعالى) عطف على قوله والقسم بالله تعالى: أي لا ينعقد القسم بغيره تعالى أي غير) [i]
أسمائه وصفاته ولو بطريق الكناية كما مر
رد المحتار، ٣/ ٧١٢
 
لا) يقسم (بغير الله تعالى كالنبي والقرآن والكعبة) قال الكمال: ولا يخفى أن الحلف بالقرآن الآن متعارف) [ii]
 فيكون يمينا. وأما الحلف بكلام الله
قوله قال الكمال إلخ مبني على أن القرآن بمعنى كلام الله، فيكون من صفاته تعالى كما يفيده كلام الهداية...ونقل في الهندية عن المضمرات: وقد قيل هذا في زمانهم، أما في زماننا فيمين وبه نأخذ ونأمر ونعتقد. وقال محمد بن مقاتل الرازي: إنه يمين، وبه أخذ جمهور مشايخنا
المرجع السابق، ٣/ ٧١٢ - ٧١٣