Do I Have a Vow or Not?
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Fatwa No. ( 20438 )
Q: About a year ago, I started experiencing intrusive thoughts (waswas) in my mind. At first, I would curse others in my mind without my will, and I was very distressed by this. Then, after a while, these intrusive thoughts developed until they became disbelief if I were to speak them. My condition worsened and I found myself in a very difficult situation. I searched around to see if I could find a cause for these intrusive thoughts. When I could not find a cause, and on one occasion while I was reading in the mushaf, my eyes fell upon the verse:[At-Tawbah 9:75]
[At-Tawbah 9:76-77] I thought that I had a vow that I had not fulfilled, and that these intrusive thoughts might be due to my failure to fulfill a vow I had made. I began searching for that vow until I started doubting all my acts of worship, thinking that they might be vows. I concluded that I had committed to all my voluntary acts in the past, and I became regular in performing them as if they were obligatory, such as voluntary prayer, standing in night prayer, maintaining wudu, and giving charity, and so on. All of this was accompanied by feelings of fear and anxiety that I had become, may Allah protect me from that, a hypocrite, and that these intrusive thoughts were hypocrisy due to my failure to fulfill a vow I might have made and not fulfilled. Then I performed Hajj, and after I returned from my Hajj, I fell ill. One night, a severe fever woke me from my sleep, one I had never experienced in my life, accompanied by the appearance of these intrusive thoughts in my mind at that moment of waking. At that moment, I felt that these intrusive thoughts might be hypocrisy due to my failure to fulfill the vow, and that this severe fever might be a punishment from Allah for my failure to fulfill the vow. I remembered the punishment of the grave, and I felt that I would die from the severe fever. When my family used water cooling on me, the heat subsided, my body cooled down, and the fever abated. Before I went to the hospital, I vowed to say: "There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise. He gives life and He causes death, and He is over all things competent" , which
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the Day of 'Arafah . I vowed to say it one hundred times in the evening and the same in the morning, and I vowed to memorize the Qur'an, based on the belief that whoever says it one hundred times, his sins will be erased even if they were like the foam of the sea, and that whoever memorizes the Qur'an, the Fire will not touch him. If I die, the reward of this deed will be written for me, and if I live, I will act upon the vow. All of this so that I will not be punished in my grave or on the Day of Resurrection. Then I later learned that I did not have a vow that I had not fulfilled, and that this fever was not due to my failure to fulfill a previous vow that I had not fulfilled, and that the intrusive thoughts—which are disbelief if spoken—are from Shaytan. They diminished greatly and began to disappear when I used treatment. The question: Is the vow binding, and is there an expiation for it? Knowing that when I spoke the vow, I was in full possession of my mental faculties and I knew what I was saying. Is the vow binding, and is it obligatory to fulfill it?
A: Your vow to memorize the Noble Qur'an, and to remember Allah the Exalted with the transmitted remembrance: "There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner..." one hundred times in the morning and evening, is a vow of obedience to Allah the Exalted. It is obligatory for you to fulfill it; due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6696, and Allah praised His believing servants who fulfill their vows, so He said, the Exalted:
[Al-Insan 76:7], and you must beware of intrusive thoughts and turn away from them, and seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan when intrusive thoughts occur to you three times, and say, if they pertain to Allah the Exalted: "I have believed in Allah and His Messengers," as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised his Companions to do when intrusive thoughts occur. May Allah protect you from them, and may He keep us and you firm upon the truth. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: About a year ago, I started experiencing intrusive thoughts (waswas) in my mind. At first, I would curse others in my mind without my will, and I was very distressed by this. Then, after a while, these intrusive thoughts developed until they became disbelief if I were to speak them. My condition worsened and I found myself in a very difficult situation. I searched around to see if I could find a cause for these intrusive thoughts. When I could not find a cause, and on one occasion while I was reading in the mushaf, my eyes fell upon the verse:
And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous."
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ(76) But when he gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused. (77) So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts
فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ (76) فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْthe Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the Day of 'Arafah . I vowed to say it one hundred times in the evening and the same in the morning, and I vowed to memorize the Qur'an, based on the belief that whoever says it one hundred times, his sins will be erased even if they were like the foam of the sea, and that whoever memorizes the Qur'an, the Fire will not touch him. If I die, the reward of this deed will be written for me, and if I live, I will act upon the vow. All of this so that I will not be punished in my grave or on the Day of Resurrection. Then I later learned that I did not have a vow that I had not fulfilled, and that this fever was not due to my failure to fulfill a previous vow that I had not fulfilled, and that the intrusive thoughts—which are disbelief if spoken—are from Shaytan. They diminished greatly and began to disappear when I used treatment. The question: Is the vow binding, and is there an expiation for it? Knowing that when I spoke the vow, I was in full possession of my mental faculties and I knew what I was saying. Is the vow binding, and is it obligatory to fulfill it?
A: Your vow to memorize the Noble Qur'an, and to remember Allah the Exalted with the transmitted remembrance: "There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner..." one hundred times in the morning and evening, is a vow of obedience to Allah the Exalted. It is obligatory for you to fulfill it; due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him
من نذر أن يطيع الله فليطعهThey [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread.
يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَيَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا كَانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطِيرًا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.