When I came to the Kingdom to work, I asked Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to make me steadfast in my work and this journey, and I vowed to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) that I would pray daily
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The questioner : When I came to the Kingdom to work, I asked Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to make me steadfast in my work and this journey, and I vowed to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) that I would pray four rak'ahs daily as praise and thanksgiving to Allah, and that I would do this for the rest of my life. One day, I forgot to pray these four rak'ahs and prayed them the next day. What is the ruling on this oversight? Is making them up on the second day acceptable, or is an expiation required? I ask you to inform me. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Before I answer his question, I would like to point out, as I have pointed out many times and as others have pointed out, that making a vow is disliked (makruh). Some scholars have even said that it is forbidden (haram). This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it, and there is an indication of this prohibition in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nur 24:53] meaning, obey Allah the Exalted without swearing oaths, or obey the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) if he commands you to go out without swearing oaths. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited making vows and said: Sunan an-Nasa'i 3801Sahih (Darussalam) Reasoning also indicates that it should be prohibited, because it is difficult for many people who make vows to fulfill them after they have made them. You find them going to every scholar, knocking on his door, hoping to find a way out of it. Some of them are negligent and do not fulfill their vow. If a person is negligent regarding a vow that he is obligated to fulfill, he is to be feared of hypocrisy, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tawbah 9:75-77].
After this, we answer the questioner's question and say: You vowed to pray four rak'ahs to Allah the Exalted every day for the rest of your life, as long as you are in the Kingdom, as it appears to me from your question. Prayer is obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6696 Therefore, it is obligatory for you to pray four rak'ahs every day as you vowed. If you forget it one day, pray it whenever you remember it, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): What is obligatory by vow is treated the same as what is obligatory by the original Shari'ah. However, if you intentionally leave it until the next day, you are sinful for that because you did not fulfill your vow. I have hesitation as to whether it suffices for you to make it up on the second day or not, because it is a prayer tied to a specific time, and you took it out of its time without a valid Shari'ah excuse, so it is not acceptable from you, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 1718b You are commanded to fulfill your vow at the time you specified. If you delay it past the time you specified intentionally, you have done what you were not commanded to do, so it will be returned to you. In this case, you must pay the expiation for an oath because the vow was missed at its time.
The expiation for an oath is: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. Whoever does not find the means to do so must fast three consecutive days.
The Shaykh : Before I answer his question, I would like to point out, as I have pointed out many times and as others have pointed out, that making a vow is disliked (makruh). Some scholars have even said that it is forbidden (haram). This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it, and there is an indication of this prohibition in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:
And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if you ordered them, they would go forth [in Allah 's cause]. Say, "Do not swear. [Such] obedience is known
وأقسموا بالله جهد أيمانهم لإن أمرتهم ليخرجن قل لا تقسموا طاعة معروفةThey 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.
ومنهم من عاهد الله لإن آتنا من فضله لنصدقن ولنكونن من الصالحين فلما آتاهم من فضله بخلوا به وتولوا وهم معرضون فأعقبهم نفاقاً في قلوبهم إلى يوم يلقونه بما أخلفوا الله ما وعدوه وبما كانوا يكسبونAfter this, we answer the questioner's question and say: You vowed to pray four rak'ahs to Allah the Exalted every day for the rest of your life, as long as you are in the Kingdom, as it appears to me from your question. Prayer is obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him
من نذر أن يطيع الله فليطعهWhoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it. There is no expiation for it except that.
من نام عن صلاة أو نسيها فليصلها إذا ذكرها لا كفارة لها إلا ذلكHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردThe expiation for an oath is: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. Whoever does not find the means to do so must fast three consecutive days.