Vows and oaths
QUESTION:
1. Please explain the difference between a vow and an oath?
2. Can a person make a vow that if a certain thing is fulfilled, he will perform Umrah?
3. If a person makes a vow, can he retract it before it is fulfilled?
4. Would an oath or vow be valid if a person just thinks of it and does not say it?
5. What would one do if he had taken an oath not to eat something and he eats it unknowingly (perhaps he came to know after)?
6. For the aKffarah of oaths, if a girl is unable to fulfil the monetary Kaffarah and instead she fasts for 3 days, would she have to begin the 3 days again if she gets her Haidh on the third day, or would it be similar to the Kaffarah of fasting – whereby she would just continue the third day after her Haidh?
ANSWER:
1. A vow is taken to make something compulsory upon oneself which was not compulsory on one to complete, or making something compulsory on oneself if some matter or need is fulfilled in honour of Allah Ta’ala.[1]
There are three conditions for the validity of a vow:
A) A similar action must be obligatory in Shariah. For example, one may vow to keep a fast as fasting is obligatory in Shariah, or one may vow to perform Salaah as Salaah is obligatory in Shariah, etc.
B) The vowed action must be an act of Ibaadah. For example, Wudhu is a means to an Ibaadah and not an Ibaadah itself, whilst Salaah is a direct act of Ibaadah. Hence, one may vow to perform Salaah, and not to make Wudhu.
C) The action that one vows to carry out must not be a compulsory act such as the five daily Salaah. Hence, one cannot take a vow to perform Fajr Salaah if a particular need is fulfilled.[2]
An oath is taken to strengthen the determination of the one taking the oath of doing, or not doing, an action in the future using the name of Allah. If one fails to fulfil the oath, then he will have to discharge the Kaffarah, which is feeding ten poor people an average meal which one feeds his family, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. In the case of feeding a poor person, the poor person should be fed twice a day, or one person should be fed two meals daily for ten days. If he is unable to feed or clothe the poor or free a slave, then he should fast for three consecutively.[3]
2. Yes. It is permissible to take a vow of performing Umrah if his needs are fulfilled as it is a direct form of Ibaadah (Ibaadat-e-Maqsoodah).[4]
3. One cannot retract from vow that has been taken.[5]
ولا يحتمل الفسخ بعد وقوعه (المبسوط للسرخسي ص42 ج24)
4. It is necessary to verbally articulate the vow. Thinking of a vow will not suffice. [6]
5. He will have to discharge the Kaffarah as he had contradicted his oath even though it may have been done unknowingly.[7]
عن الأسود انه قال : ان تزوجت فلانة فهي طالق فتزوجها ناسيا فاتي ابن مسعود فذكر ذلك له فالزمه الطلاق (احكام القران للجصاص ص533 ج3)
6. If one does not have the monetary means to fulfil the Kaffarah, then one will have to fast for 3 days consecutively. Now, if a woman was fasting for 3 days due to breaking an oath and experienced Haidh, then she will have to commence her fasting all over again from the very beginning.[8]
لو صام الثلاثة متفرقة لا يجوز — ولو حاضت المراة في الثلاثة استقبلت (البحر الرائق ص489 ج4)
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Maulana Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: – 04 Safar 1444 / 21 August 2023
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
[1] التزام المكلف شيئا لم يكن عليه منجزا أو معلقا بحدوث أمر تعظيما لله تعالى (القاموس الفقهي ص :350)
فتاوى عثمانية (9/9)
[2] إذا نذر شيئا لزمه الوفاء به إذا اجتمع فيه ثلاثة شروط: أن يكون من جنسه واجب وأن يكون مقصودا و ليس واجبا (نور الإيضاح ص 143)
[3] الدر المختار و حاشية ابن عابدين 5/461)) فَإِنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْيَمِينِ عَقْدٌ يَتَقَوَّى بِهِ عَزْمُ الْحَالِفِ عَلَى الْفِعْلِ أَوْ التَّرْكِ فِي الْمُسْتَقْبَلِ
[4] فتاوى عثمانية 9/11
[5] فتاوى قاسمية 17/73
[6] فتاوى قاسمية 17/24 ، فتاوى دار العلوم زكريا 4/470