A vow is binding when it suggests commitment

16-5-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu alaikum, i have a question regarding a vow i made a few months ago when i was desperate for job so I had said the following sentence " Allah if i get a good job I'll use my first income to get my parents umrah done" is this considered a vow? Kindly help me with this, Assalamu alaikum.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The mentioned sentence is considered one of the vow formulas because it suggests commitment. The Muslim jurists have stated that the vow becomes binding when it is said with any wording which indicates commitment, even if it does not include the word “vow” itself. Hashiyat ad-Dasuqi 'ala ash-Sharh al-Kabeer reads: “It becomes binding when it is said with any wording which suggests commitment, such as "if Allah heals a sick person, or if an absent person comes back, or if I am saved from such-and-such, then I will fast two days or I will pray such-and-such rak'ahs, or I will give such-and-such an amount in charity. And I have alerted you to this, as some people think that the vow can only be made by saying “I vow to Allah to”, or “It is incumbent upon me to do such-and-such if...”

Based on this, you must fulfill it if what you stipulated – which is getting a job – is fulfilled, because it is a vow of obedience, and in this case, spending for your father’s Umrah is considered an act of obedience.

Allah knows best.