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Fatwa CenterRuling on the two kinds of vows
Question
What is the religious ruling on making a vow as mentioned in the Noble Quran? Is it disliked?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
A vow is an act of worship. It is mentioned in the Noble Quran in many places. Allaah The Exalted Informs us that the mother of Maryam, may Allaah exalt her mention, had vowed to devote her unborn child to Allaah The Exalted. He Says (what means): {...when the wife of ‘Imraan said, “My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You Are the Hearing, the Knowing.”} [Quran 3:35]
Allaah The Exalted also Commanded Mary, may Allaah exalt her mention, to make a vow. He Says (what means): {...And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.'} [Quran 19:26]
Allaah The Exalted also Says (what means):
· {And whatever you spend of expenditures or make of vows – indeed, Allaah Knows of it…} [Quran 2:270]
· {Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows and perform Tawaaf around the ancient House.”} [Quran 22:29]
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever vowed to obey Allaah must obey Him; and whoever vowed to disobey Allaah, should not disobey Him.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
These verses and Hadeeths highlight the permissibility of making vows in Islam. There are two kinds of vows:
1) The first kind of vow is when one commits himself to offer money or an animal sacrifice if he has a certain wish fulfilled. This kind of vow is disliked but some scholars considered it impermissible. The evidence of its being disliked or forbidden is the Hadeeth that was reported by Ibn ‘Umar 
that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, forbade them from making vows and said: “It does not (necessarily) bring good. Rather, it is by which something is extracted from the miserly person.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The fact that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “It does not (necessarily) bring good,” renders spending money to fulfill such a vow a form of wasting money, which is forbidden in Islam, as is known.
2) The second kind of vow is when one makes a vow to perform a prayer, fasting, offer Zakah, perform ‘Umrah, or other such acts of obedience and worship. This kind of vow is not included in the prohibition. This is supported by the tradition that was reported with a good chain of narrators on the authority of Qataadah 
commenting on the verse that reads (what means): {They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows...} [Quran 76:7] He said, “They used to make vows to Allaah The Exalted that they would perform the acts of worship that are enjoined upon them such as prayer, fasting, Zakah, Hajj, and ‘Umrah. Allaah The Exalted Described them as righteous.”
It is obligatory to fulfill both kinds of vows, and failing to fulfill them is forbidden. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever vowed to obey Allaah must obey Him; and whoever vowed to disobey Allaah should not disobey to Him.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The imperative style of the words of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “… must obey Him”, indicates obligation and his saying, “…should not disobey Him”, indicates prohibition.
Muslims should avoid committing themselves to what is beyond their capacity. Some people mistakenly believe that making a vow can achieve their wishes like no other thing can, such as the recovery of a patient, the return of a lost one, or the like. This is untrue.
Allaah Knows best.
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