Before I came to work here in the Kingdom, I was always supplicating to Allah the Exalted to facilitate my coming here so that I might be granted the performance of the obligatory Hajj and the visitation of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque.
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The questioner : Before I came to work here in the Kingdom, I was always supplicating to Allah the Exalted to facilitate my coming here so that I might be granted the performance of the obligatory Hajj and the visitation of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque. I vowed to Allah the Exalted that if He granted me this, I would perform Hajj for my father and my mother. After I was granted what I wished for, and praise be to Allah, I performed the obligatory Hajj in the first year. In the second year, I resolved to fulfill my vow regarding my father, so I sent a request for them to come for Hajj at my expense. However, I was surprised by the reply that my father had passed away, so I performed Hajj on his behalf that year. As for my mother, she has performed 'Umrah several times, and I dedicated the reward of those to her. Does my action count as fulfilling the vow for my father? And regarding my mother, is performing 'Umrah on her behalf sufficient instead of Hajj? If it is not sufficient, is it permissible for me to perform Hajj on her behalf myself, or is it necessary for her to perform it herself as long as she is able?
The Shaykh : As for your father, you have performed the obligatory duty, because when it became impossible for him to perform Hajj himself due to his death, you performed it on his behalf. By doing so, you have fulfilled what is obligatory upon you, so praise Allah for that.
As for your mother, she must perform Hajj herself, unless that becomes impossible due to an illness that is not expected to be cured, or due to death, in which case you perform it on her behalf.
After this, I advise you and everyone who listens to this program. I advise you regarding vows, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows, and he said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3801Sahih (Darussalam) And when Allah the Exalted grants you a blessing, your duty regarding that blessing is to thank Allah Mighty and Majestic, not to bind yourself with vows from which you are free. Then, afterwards, you may not be able to fulfill the vow, or you may be negligent in fulfilling the vow. Negligence in fulfilling a vow is a cause for hypocrisy to enter the heart, as Allah the Exalted said: [At-Tawbah 9:75-77] In any case, I advise my Muslim brothers, I advise them against making vows. I say: It is not permissible for a person to make a vow. Rather, vows are between what is disliked and what is forbidden. First: because it involves falling into what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade. Second: because some people think that if they do not make a vow, they will not obtain from Allah the Exalted what they wish for. This may be a bad opinion of Allah Mighty and Majestic and a bad belief in Him, and that Allah the Exalted does not bestow upon you unless you make a condition for Him. This is undoubtedly a bad belief.
Third: a person binds himself to something from which he is free.
Fourth: many of those who make vows, after they obtain what they conditioned the vow upon, are found to be negligent and lazy, thereby exposing themselves to the severe warning we mentioned earlier.
Fifth: you find that those who make vows, when they obtain what they conditioned the vow upon, are found to be seeking out scholars, hoping to find a dispensation to get rid of it. It is known that seeking out dispensations, as the scholars said, is open sinfulness. And unfortunately, some people fall into this when they consult a scholar, believing that what that scholar says is the Shari'ah by which they should proceed. If he issues a ruling contrary to his desire, he goes to ask another scholar. If that one issues a ruling that suits his desire, he stops; otherwise, he goes to a third scholar, and so on. The scholars have mentioned that if a person consults a scholar and commits to his ruling, it is not permissible for him to consult another, due to the playing with religion, the instability of the person, and his lack of settling on a principle upon which to build his conduct toward Allah Mighty and Majestic. Yes, if a scholar issues a ruling for you, and you only consulted him out of necessity because you did not find anyone more trustworthy in your own view, then in that case, if you find a scholar more trustworthy than him, you may ask him and turn to his ruling if it contradicts the ruling of the first mufti, because you only consulted the first one out of necessity. Likewise, there is no blame on you if you consult a person whose ruling you trust, but you gain new knowledge from another scholar without your causing it, then there is no blame on you for moving to the ruling of the other scholar. In fact, it may become obligatory upon you if it becomes clear to you that the evidence is with the second one, for in this case, it is obligatory upon you to return to the ruling of the second scholar due to the presence of the evidence with him. However, if he hears from another scholar, without research, what he sees to be the truth due to the strength of its evidence, he must follow him for the sake of the evidence. Likewise, if he consults a scholar nearby out of necessity because he does not find anyone more trustworthy in his own view, there is no blame on him if he seeks another scholar who is more trustworthy in a situation of ease.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : As for your father, you have performed the obligatory duty, because when it became impossible for him to perform Hajj himself due to his death, you performed it on his behalf. By doing so, you have fulfilled what is obligatory upon you, so praise Allah for that.
As for your mother, she must perform Hajj herself, unless that becomes impossible due to an illness that is not expected to be cured, or due to death, in which case you perform it on her behalf.
After this, I advise you and everyone who listens to this program. I advise you regarding vows, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows, and he said:
They do not bring any good
إنه لا يأتي بخير(75) 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." (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 until the Day they will meet Him - because they failed Allah in what they promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ * فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَThird: a person binds himself to something from which he is free.
Fourth: many of those who make vows, after they obtain what they conditioned the vow upon, are found to be negligent and lazy, thereby exposing themselves to the severe warning we mentioned earlier.
Fifth: you find that those who make vows, when they obtain what they conditioned the vow upon, are found to be seeking out scholars, hoping to find a dispensation to get rid of it. It is known that seeking out dispensations, as the scholars said, is open sinfulness. And unfortunately, some people fall into this when they consult a scholar, believing that what that scholar says is the Shari'ah by which they should proceed. If he issues a ruling contrary to his desire, he goes to ask another scholar. If that one issues a ruling that suits his desire, he stops; otherwise, he goes to a third scholar, and so on. The scholars have mentioned that if a person consults a scholar and commits to his ruling, it is not permissible for him to consult another, due to the playing with religion, the instability of the person, and his lack of settling on a principle upon which to build his conduct toward Allah Mighty and Majestic. Yes, if a scholar issues a ruling for you, and you only consulted him out of necessity because you did not find anyone more trustworthy in your own view, then in that case, if you find a scholar more trustworthy than him, you may ask him and turn to his ruling if it contradicts the ruling of the first mufti, because you only consulted the first one out of necessity. Likewise, there is no blame on you if you consult a person whose ruling you trust, but you gain new knowledge from another scholar without your causing it, then there is no blame on you for moving to the ruling of the other scholar. In fact, it may become obligatory upon you if it becomes clear to you that the evidence is with the second one, for in this case, it is obligatory upon you to return to the ruling of the second scholar due to the presence of the evidence with him. However, if he hears from another scholar, without research, what he sees to be the truth due to the strength of its evidence, he must follow him for the sake of the evidence. Likewise, if he consults a scholar nearby out of necessity because he does not find anyone more trustworthy in his own view, there is no blame on him if he seeks another scholar who is more trustworthy in a situation of ease.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.