A vow to fast every Thursday for life: Can other days substitute for it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 18777 )
Q: I made a vow — while unaware of the prohibition by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) — I vowed to fast every Thursday for as long as Allah grants me life, except in the case of travel, if I passed the exam. And praise be to Allah, I passed, and I am now in the reality of fulfilling the promise. But I faced what I did not expect or take into account, which is:
1 - Fatigue and exhaustion, especially in the medical field, and the college is about an hour and a quarter, roughly 30 km, from my residence. 2 - Thinking about how to fast on Thursdays, while feeling a lack of strength and vitality during the Thursday fast, and that I am preparing from the first day of the week until Thursday. 3 - The body generally cannot withstand the exhaustion, and the possibility of causing illness as a result, and the heat of the weather in this country. 4 - That I am considering not going to college on that day so as not to tire myself, even though my studies are obligatory in this field in particular, so I do not know how to reconcile them. Knowing that I did not consider these circumstances when making the vow due to the fear and anxiety of that moment of the exams. So now I am hesitant about fasting, and in previous days I broke the fast, and I want the answer to the questions: What is the ruling on this type of long-term fasting? 1 - Is fasting obligatory for me in this case? 2 - In the case of feeling fatigue and exhaustion, do I fast or break the fast and compensate with a day? 3 - Can the specific day of Thursday be replaced with another day on which I do not go
to college? What is the ruling on the days I broke the fast in the previous weeks? 5 - If my father orders me to break the fast, what is my position? Knowing that we do not have holidays in which we can make up the fast.
A : The principle is that fulfilling a vow of obedience is obligatory; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6696 And since the purpose for which you vowed has been realized for you, it is obligatory for you to fast every Thursday as long as you are able to fast, and you are not prevented from it by illness or old age. And the days you broke the fast in the past, make them up on other days. No other day substitutes for the Thursday for which you vowed to fast. And you are not required to obey your father in leaving the fulfillment of your vow; because leaving the fulfillment of a vow of obedience is a sin, and there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. But you must avoid making vows in the future; because they do not bring good. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1639c . And we ask Allah to help you and grant you success so that you perform the obligatory with patience and calculation. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Q: I made a vow — while unaware of the prohibition by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) — I vowed to fast every Thursday for as long as Allah grants me life, except in the case of travel, if I passed the exam. And praise be to Allah, I passed, and I am now in the reality of fulfilling the promise. But I faced what I did not expect or take into account, which is:
1 - Fatigue and exhaustion, especially in the medical field, and the college is about an hour and a quarter, roughly 30 km, from my residence. 2 - Thinking about how to fast on Thursdays, while feeling a lack of strength and vitality during the Thursday fast, and that I am preparing from the first day of the week until Thursday. 3 - The body generally cannot withstand the exhaustion, and the possibility of causing illness as a result, and the heat of the weather in this country. 4 - That I am considering not going to college on that day so as not to tire myself, even though my studies are obligatory in this field in particular, so I do not know how to reconcile them. Knowing that I did not consider these circumstances when making the vow due to the fear and anxiety of that moment of the exams. So now I am hesitant about fasting, and in previous days I broke the fast, and I want the answer to the questions: What is the ruling on this type of long-term fasting? 1 - Is fasting obligatory for me in this case? 2 - In the case of feeling fatigue and exhaustion, do I fast or break the fast and compensate with a day? 3 - Can the specific day of Thursday be replaced with another day on which I do not go
to college? What is the ruling on the days I broke the fast in the previous weeks? 5 - If my father orders me to break the fast, what is my position? Knowing that we do not have holidays in which we can make up the fast.
A : The principle is that fulfilling a vow of obedience is obligatory; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him
من نذر أن يطيع الله فليطعهforbade (people) taking vows, and said: It does not (necessarily) bring good (in the form of substantial, and tangible results), but it is the meant whereby something is extracted from the miserly persons.
إياكم والنذر؛ فإنه لا يأتي بخير، وإنما يستخرج به من البخيل
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.