If a person makes a vow and then forgets, not knowing whether he made a vow or not, what should he do? And if a Muslim makes a vow, for example, saying, "If Allah grants me success this year, I will..."
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The questioner : If a person makes a vow and then forgets, not knowing whether he made a vow or not, what should he do? And if a Muslim makes a vow, for example, saying, "If Allah grants me success this year, I will slaughter a ram," is it permissible for him to keep some of it for himself or not? And what is the amount that he should give in charity?
The Shaykh : Now, as for the first question, if a person is in doubt whether he made a vow or not, then he owes nothing, because the original state is that one's conscience is clear.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And there is no obligation in the presence of doubt. Therefore, nothing is required of him in any way. As for the second question, if he vowed to slaughter a ram for his success or something similar among the things he desires, and he made a vow, then we ask him: Do you intend by this vow to express joy and happiness, and to invite your brothers and be generous with them? If so, it is permissible for you to slaughter this ram and invite to it whomever you wish from your relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances, and this is sufficient. If you wish, you may expiate this vow with the expiation of an oath and not slaughter the ram, because this act is not among the matters of obedience, but rather it is among the permissible matters.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a vow for a permissible matter gives a person the choice between doing what he vowed and expiating with the expiation of an oath. However, if your vow of this ram was for the sake of success and the like of your desires, and you intend by it to give thanks to Allah for His blessing, then in that case, it becomes an act of worship, and it is obligatory to fulfill it, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih al-Bukhari 6696. Accordingly, it is obligatory for you to slaughter it and give it in charity to the poor, and not to keep any of it for yourself, because it was for Allah, and what is for Allah is to be distributed among the poor and the needy. However, as a conclusion to this question, I warn you, my brother, and other Muslims, I warn you from making vows, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it and said: Sahih Muslim 1639c.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a vow is, in reality, a person obliging himself to do something that Allah has not obligated him to do. Perhaps a person will make a vow to Allah the Exalted, conditional upon the occurrence of something he loves. Then that thing occurs for him, but he becomes lazy about fulfilling the vow, or he is negligent about it and does not carry it out. Then he fears for himself what Allah the Exalted mentioned regarding the punishment of those who did not fulfill their vows, in His saying:[At-Tawbah 9:75-77]. Then, a vow is not what always brings about the desired thing, for it is Allah the Mighty and Majestic who brings about the desired thing. So a person asks Allah the Exalted to facilitate for him this matter he loves without making a vow. The Messenger (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said, as we mentioned earlier: Sunan an-Nasa'i 3801Sahih (Darussalam). For this reason, I warn my brothers, the listeners, from making vows. And success is from Allah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Now, as for the first question, if a person is in doubt whether he made a vow or not, then he owes nothing, because the original state is that one's conscience is clear.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And there is no obligation in the presence of doubt. Therefore, nothing is required of him in any way. As for the second question, if he vowed to slaughter a ram for his success or something similar among the things he desires, and he made a vow, then we ask him: Do you intend by this vow to express joy and happiness, and to invite your brothers and be generous with them? If so, it is permissible for you to slaughter this ram and invite to it whomever you wish from your relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances, and this is sufficient. If you wish, you may expiate this vow with the expiation of an oath and not slaughter the ram, because this act is not among the matters of obedience, but rather it is among the permissible matters.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a vow for a permissible matter gives a person the choice between doing what he vowed and expiating with the expiation of an oath. However, if your vow of this ram was for the sake of success and the like of your desires, and you intend by it to give thanks to Allah for His blessing, then in that case, it becomes an act of worship, and it is obligatory 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 فليطعهIt 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.
إنه لا يأتي بخير وإنما يستخرج به من البخيلThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a vow is, in reality, a person obliging himself to do something that Allah has not obligated him to do. Perhaps a person will make a vow to Allah the Exalted, conditional upon the occurrence of something he loves. Then that thing occurs for him, but he becomes lazy about fulfilling the vow, or he is negligent about it and does not carry it out. Then he fears for himself what Allah the Exalted mentioned regarding the punishment of those who did not fulfill their vows, in His saying:
(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.
ومنهم من عاهد الله لئن ءاتانا من فضله لنصدقن ولنكونن من الصالحين * فلما ءاتاهم من فضله بخلوا به وتولوا وهم معرضون * فأعقبهم نفاقا في قلوبهم إلى يوم يلقونه بما أخلفوا الله ما وعدوه وبما كانوا يكذبونThey do not bring any good
إنه لا يأتي بخيرThe questioner : May Allah reward you.