A man noticed negligence in himself regarding the regular voluntary prayers (rawatib) and wanted to resolve to perform them completely, so he vowed to Allah the Exalted not to leave any of the regular voluntary prayers
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This is a confirmation of what you said. You said: "The honorable Shaykh, a man noticed negligence in himself regarding the regular voluntary prayers (rawatib) and wanted to resolve to perform them completely, so he vowed to Allah the Exalted not to leave any of the regular voluntary prayers, thereby obligating himself to something Allah did not obligate him to. He now finds himself falling short. What is the solution for this man who has burdened himself with what he cannot bear?"
The Shaykh : This is something that can be borne. The rawatib are within the capability of every person. However, if one travels, they are dropped from him, because he only vowed to pray the rawatib. The rawatib are dropped during travel, except for the rawatib of Fajr. Pay attention to my use of the word "rawatib"! They are not the nawafil (voluntary prayers). The nawafil are not dropped during travel. Whoever says that the Sunnah is left during travel has erred. Three of the rawatib are dropped during travel: Zuhr, and what? Maghrib and Isha. We say these are dropped from you if you travel. But if one travels specifically to drop these three rawatib, are they dropped from him? No. This is a ruse that does not work. For this reason, the scholars said: The traveler is not obligated to fast. But if one travels specifically to break his fast, the travel is forbidden to him and breaking the fast is forbidden to him. The important point is that I tell the brother: This is something that can be borne. His statement that he cannot bear it is not correct. Everyone is able to pray two rak'ahs before Zuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after Isha, and two before Fajr. There is no difficulty in this. So let him seek help from Allah and fulfill his vow, and let him advise others against making vows. Yes.
The Shaykh : This is something that can be borne. The rawatib are within the capability of every person. However, if one travels, they are dropped from him, because he only vowed to pray the rawatib. The rawatib are dropped during travel, except for the rawatib of Fajr. Pay attention to my use of the word "rawatib"! They are not the nawafil (voluntary prayers). The nawafil are not dropped during travel. Whoever says that the Sunnah is left during travel has erred. Three of the rawatib are dropped during travel: Zuhr, and what? Maghrib and Isha. We say these are dropped from you if you travel. But if one travels specifically to drop these three rawatib, are they dropped from him? No. This is a ruse that does not work. For this reason, the scholars said: The traveler is not obligated to fast. But if one travels specifically to break his fast, the travel is forbidden to him and breaking the fast is forbidden to him. The important point is that I tell the brother: This is something that can be borne. His statement that he cannot bear it is not correct. Everyone is able to pray two rak'ahs before Zuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib, two after Isha, and two before Fajr. There is no difficulty in this. So let him seek help from Allah and fulfill his vow, and let him advise others against making vows. Yes.