Assalam-o-alaikum,

Praise be to Allaah.

There follows an explanation of the issue of vows, describing different
kinds of vows and the basic rules concerning them, so that you and other readers may
benefit from this information, in sha Allaah.

Al-Isfahaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) says, in his book Mufradaat
Alfaaz al-Qur’aan (Vocabulary of the Qur’aan), p. 797:

“Al-Nadhr (vow): when you oblige yourself to do something
that is not obligatory because of something that you want to happen. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): ‘[Maryam said:] I have vowed a fast unto the Most
Beneficent (Allaah)…’ [Maryam 19:26].”

So a vow is the action, on the part of a person who is adult and of
sound mind (mukallaf), of obliging himself to do something that is not obligatory, whether
he intends to do it straight away or makes his doing it conditional upon something else.

Vows are mentioned in the Qur’aan in approving terms. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the abraar (pious, who fear Allaah and
avoid evil), shall drink a cup (of wine) mixed with water from a spring in Paradise called
Kaafoor, a spring wherefrom the slaves of Allaah will drink, causing it to gush forth
abundantly. They (are those who) fulfil their vows, and they fear a Day whose evil will be
widespreading.” [al-Dahr 76:5-7]. So Allaah makes their fear of the horrors of
the Day of Resurrection and their fulfilment of their vows some of the reasons for their
salvation and admittance to Paradise.

Ruling on vows. Fulfilling legitimate (shar’i) vows is
obligatory according to sharee’ah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Then
let them complete the prescribed duties (manaasik of Hajj) for them, and perform their
vows…” [al-Hajj 22:29]. Imaam al-Shawkaani said: “This means that they
have to do this.”

Numerous ahaadeeth have been reported from the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) discouraging vows and describing them as makrooh. Abu
Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: ‘Do not make vows, for vows do not change qadar (the divine decree) in the
slightest, but they make the stingy person give something up.’” (Reported by
Muslim).

‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both)
said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) began
to discourage us from making vows, and said, ‘They do not change anything, although
they may make the miser give up something.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari and
Muslim).

One might ask, how is it that those who fulfil their vows are praised,
then making vows is discouraged? The answer is that the kind of vow that is praised is the
vow to do acts of worship that are not connected to anything – i.e., not conditional
upon anything – which makes a man force himself to do acts of worship and prevent
himself from being lazy, or in thanksgiving for some blessing. The kinds of vow which are
discouraged are of different types, including vows that are made in return for something,
whereby a person makes his doing an act of worship conditional upon attaining something or
warding off something, and if that does not happen, he does not do the act of worship.
This is what is discouraged, perhaps for the following reasons:

because then the person who made the vow would be doing the act of
worship reluctantly, because it has become something he cannot avoid or get out of.

Because when the person making the vow makes the act of worship
conditional upon his getting what he wants, his vow becomes a kind of exchange or barter
which corrupts his intention; if the sick person is not cured, he will not give the
charity which he vowed to give if the sick person was healed. This is miserliness, because
the miser will not give anything except for something in return in this life (as opposed
to the Hereafter), and what he gains is more than what he gives.

Some people ignorantly believe that making a vow guarantees that they
will get whatever they made the vow for, or that Allaah will make it happen for them
because of the vow.

Another ignorant belief is the idea that making a vow can change
qadaa’ (the divine decree), or that it can bring them some immediate benefit or ward
off some harm. So vows were discouraged lest ignorant people believe such things, and as a
warning of the danger that such attitudes present to sound belief.

Types of vows and their fulfilment

1 – Vows which must be fulfilled (vows to do acts of worship and
obedience to Allaah)

This includes every vow which involves a promise to do some kind of act
of worship, such as praying, fasting, performing ‘Umrah or Hajj, upholding family
ties, doing I’tikaaf (retreat for worship in the mosque), jihaad, enjoining what is
good and forbidding what is evil. For example, a person may say, “It is my duty
towards Allaah to fast such-and-such (days)” or to give such-and-such in charity, or
to go for Hajj this year, or to pray two rak’ahs in al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah]
in thanksgiving to Allaah for curing a sick person. Or he may make a vow of doing some act
of worship conditional upon something that will benefit him if it happens, so he says,
“If my absent loved one returns or Allaah protects me from the evil of my enemy, I
will fast such-and-such (days) or give such-and-such in charity.”

The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever vows to do some act of worship and obedience to Allaah, then let him do it,
and whoever vows to do some sin, let him not do it.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6202).

If a man vows to do some act of worship then circumstances change and
prevent him from fulfilling his vow, such as he vows to fast for a month or to go for Hajj
or ‘Umrah, then he falls sick and is unable to fast or travel, or he vows to give
charity, then he becomes poor and is unable to give what he promised, then in such cases
he must offer expiation (kafaarah) for breaking his vow, which is the same as kafaarat
yameen (expiation for breaking an oath). Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
them both) said, “Whoever makes a vow and is then unable to fulfil it, his expiation
is kafaarat yameen.” (Reported by Abu Dawood. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in Buloogh
al-Maraam, Its isnaad is saheeh, and some huffaaz thought it was mawqoof.).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Fataawa (33/49):
“If a man intends to vow to do some act of worship and obedience to Allaah, then he
must fulfil it. If he does not fulfil his vow to Allaah, then he must offer kafaarat
yameen, according to the majority of the salaf (early generations of Islam).”

2 – Vows which it is forbidden to fulfil, and for which kafaarat
yameen must be offered

This includes different types of vows:

Vows to commit sin:

This is every vow which involves disobedience to Allaah, such as vows to
bring oil, candles or money to graves or shrines (mashhads), or to visit tombs and shrines
of shirk. This is in some ways like making vows to idols. It is also forbidden to fulfil
vows which promise to do some sin, like committing zinaa (adultery, fornication), drinking
alcohol, stealing, taking orphans’ property, denying someone’s rights, or
cutting family ties by cutting a certain relative off or not entering his house for no
shar’i reason. All of these are not permitted at all, and (the person who makes such
a vow) must offer kafaarat yameen in expiation for his vow. The evidence (daleel) that it
is not permissible to fulfil this kind of vow is the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) who reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever vows to do some act of worship and obedience to
Allaah, then let him do it, and whoever vows to do some sin, let him not do it.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari). ‘Imraan ibn Husayn reported that the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There should be no fulfilment
of a vow to commit sin.” (Reported by Muslim, 3099).

Vows that go against a shar’i text (of the Qur’aan or Sunnah)

If a Muslim makes a vow then it becomes clear to him that this vow of
his goes against a clear, saheeh text that contains some command or prohibition, then he
must refrain from fulfilling his vow, and offer kafaarat yameen for it. The evidence for
this is the report of al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) from Ziyaad ibn Jubayr,
who said: “I was with Ibn ‘Umar and a man asked him, ‘I made a vow to fast
every Tuesday or Wednesday as long as I live, and it so happens that this day is Yawm
al-Nahr (the Day of Sacrifice, i.e., the first day of Eid al-Adha).’ He said,
‘Allaah has commanded us to fulfil vows and we are forbidden to fast on Yawm
al-Nahr.’ He repeated this to him, and said no more and no less.” (Saheeh
al-Bukhaari, 6212).

Imaam Ahmad reported that Ziyaad ibn Jubayr said: “A man asked Ibn
‘Umar, whilst he was walking in Mina, ‘I made a vow to fast every Tuesday or
Wednesday, and it so happens that this day is Yawm al-Nahr, so what do you think?’ He
said, ‘Allaah, may He be exalted, has commanded us to fulfil our vows, and the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us [or he
said: we were forbidden] to fast on Yawm al-Nahr.’ The man thought that he had not
heard him properly, so he said, ‘I made a vow to fast every Tuesday or Wednesday, and
it so happens that this day is Yawm al-Nahr.’ [Ibn ‘Umar] said, ‘Allaah,
may He be exalted, has commanded us to fulfil our vows, and the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us [or he said: we were forbidden] to
fast on Yawm al-Nahr.’ They kept repeating this exchange until they reached the
mountain.”

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: “The scholars agree that it is not
permitted to fast on Yawm al-Fitr and Yawm al-Nahr, neither as an act of worship nor in
fulfilment of a vow.”

3 – Vows concerning which there is no ruling other than kafaarat
yameen

There are some vows concerning which there is no ruling other than that
the one who makes such a vow must offer kafaarat yameen in expiation for his vow. These
include:

– Non-specific vows

If a Muslim makes a vow but does not specify what the vow is about,
such as saying, “I make a vow if Allaah heals this sick person” – but does
not specify anything, then he must offer kafaarat yameen. ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir
reported that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The expiation for a vow is kafaarat yameen.” (Reported by Muslim). Imaam
al-Nawawi said: “Maalik and many others – indeed the majority – interpreted
this as meaning absolute vows, such as saying ‘I vow’ [without being
specific].” (Sharh Muslim li’l-Nawawi, 11/104).

– Vows concerning things that one does not possess.

If a person makes a vow concerning something that is not his, then he
has no option but to offer kafaarat yameen. For example, if he vows to give charity from
someone else’s wealth, or to free someone else’s slave, or to give a garden that
he does not own to someone. The evidence for this ruling is the hadeeth of ‘Amr ibn
Shu’ayb from his father from his grandfather, who said: “The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The son of Adam cannot make
any vow concerning that which is not his, he cannot free (any slave) who is not his, and
he cannot divorce any wife who is not his.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 1101. He said:
The hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr is a saheeh hasan hadeeth).

4 – Vows where one has the option of fulfilling the vow or of
offering kafaarat yameen

There are vows where a person has the option of fulfilling the vow or
of offering kafaarat yameen. This kind of vow includes:

– Vows made in desperation or in anger:

This means every vow that comes in the form of an oath made to urge for
something to be done or to stop something from being done, or to swear that something is
true or not true, where the person does not really intend to make a vow to do some act of
worship. For example, a man might say in anger, ‘If I ever do such-and-such I have to
go for Hajj, or fast for a month, or give one thousand dinars in charity’ or,
‘If I ever speak to So-and-so I have to free a slave, or divorce my wife,’ and
so on, then he does the thing he said he would not do, but all he really meant by his
words was that he would not do that thing – he had no intention of either doing it or
the thing he vowed to do if he did.

In such a case, this person – who made the vow for argument’s
sake or to express the urgency of doing or refraining from something – has the choice
of either fulfilling the vow, or expiating for it by offering kafaarat yameen,
because his vow was essentially an oath (yameen).

Ibn Taymiyah said: “If a vow is made in the form of an oath, such
as saying, ‘If I travel with you then I have to go for Hajj, or give all my wealth in
charity, or free a slave,’ in the opinion of the Sahaabah and the majority of the
scholars this is hilf al-nadhr (an oath by vowing), it is not a vow. If he does not
do what he promised to do, it is sufficient for him to offer kafaarat yameen.”
Elsewhere, he said, “The obligation of vows made in anger or desperation is one of
two things, according to the majority: either expiation, or doing the thing promised. If
he does not fulfil the vow, he must offer expiation (kafaarah).”

– Vows concerning permissible things.

This means every vow that includes permissible things, such as vowing
to wear a certain type of clothes, eat special foods, ride a certain animal, enter a
certain house, and so on.

Thaabit ibn al-Dahhaak said: “A man vowed to sacrifice a camel in
Bawaanah (according to one report: because a male child had been born to him). He came to
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: ‘I have vowed
to sacrifice a camel in Bawaanah.’ The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: ‘Was there one of the idols of the Jaahiliyyah there that people used
to worship?’ They said, ‘No.’ He asked, ‘Did they used to celebrate
any of their festivals there?’ They said, ‘No.’ The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Then fulfil your vow, for
there is no fulfilment of vows that involve disobedience to Allaah, or that concern things
that the son of Adam does not possess.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2881).

This man had vowed to sacrifice a camel in Bawaanah (a place beyond
Yanboo’) in thanksgiving to Allaah, may He be exalted, because He had blessed him
with a male child. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) allowed
him to fulfil his vow, so he sacrificed a camel in that place.

We ask Allaah to help us to do that which He loves and will please Him.
May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.