A woman asks: “May the Shaykh be respected… I was in contact with a sick person and feared that his illness would be transmitted to me, so I vowed that if Allah cured me of this illness, I would recite the chapter of…”

The questioner : A woman asks: “May the Shaykh be respected, I was in contact with a sick person and feared that his illness would be transmitted to me, so I vowed that if Allah cured me of this illness, I would recite Surat al-Baqarah every day.”

The Shaykh : What do you recite?

The questioner : I would recite Surat al-Baqarah every day, and now I sometimes find it difficult to do so.

The Shaykh : Yes, I say: if you find it difficult, who made the vow obligatory upon her? What do you say? She made the vow obligatory upon herself. Therefore, if people had reason, or more precisely, if people had understanding, they would never make vows, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows and said: Listen to the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: Now, do we do what does not bring good? No. Therefore, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah inclined toward forbidding vows, whether in exchange for a blessing or in exchange for the removal of a calamity, for it is forbidden and disliked with severe dislike. So we say to this woman: You made it obligatory upon yourself to recite al-Baqarah every day. Reciting al-Baqarah every day is not difficult. You can recite half a juz at the beginning of the day, half a juz at the time of the midday prayer, and half a juz at the time of the afternoon prayer. How much is that? One and a half juz. And you complete it after the afternoon prayer or during the morning prayer, so it is easy. That is, al-Baqarah is approximately two and a half juz, and a reciter can recite them in one hour and fifteen minutes, and it is easy. It is obligatory for her to fulfill her vow. If she does not do so, I fear she will be like those about whom Allah said: And what is the reward? Answer, O man? So we say to the sister questioner: Seek help from Allah, and recite al-Baqarah every day as you bound yourself to do. Yes.