I was afflicted with an illness and I said, “If my Lord heals me from this illness, I will pray two rak'ahs at the Ka'bah.” Praise be to Allah, I was healed, but I was unable to travel due to obstacles. What is the ruling, and is this...
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I was afflicted with an illness and I said: “If my Lord heals me from this illness, I will pray two rak'ahs at the Ka'bah.” Praise be to Allah, I was healed, but I was unable to travel due to obstacles. What is the ruling, and is this a vow?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is a vow, because a vow is when a person commits himself to his Lord in obedience. Its wording is not a specific formula without which it is not established; rather, anything that indicates commitment is a vow. Accordingly, the one who has been granted healing by Allah the Exalted must fulfill what he pledged to Allah by going to Makkah and praying two rak'ahs at the Ka'bah, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6696 It is also established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that a man came to him after the conquest of Makkah and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! I vowed that if Allah grants you the conquest of Makkah, I would pray in the Sacred Mosque (Bayt al-Maqdis)." He said: The man repeated it to him, and he said: Then he repeated it again, and he said: This indicates that specifying prayer in a noble place due to the occurrence of healing, wealth, or the like, must be realized and fulfilled. Whoever does not fulfill the obligatory vow is likely to be followed by hypocrisy in his heart, may Allah protect us from that, as Allah the Exalted said: [At-Tawbah 9:75-77] For this reason, the Sunnah came with the prohibition of vows. So Sahih Muslim 1639c Based on this hadith, I warn my brothers from making vows, whether for healing from an illness, obtaining a child, obtaining a wife, success in knowledge, or anything else, because a person may not fulfill what he vowed even if his desire is realized, and he will be punished with this great and terrible punishment: [At-Tawbah 9:77] And what Allah the Exalted wills will happen, whether you vow or not. If Allah wills healing for this sick person, he will be healed, whether he vows or not. And if Allah wills something for a person, it will happen, whether he vows or not.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is a vow, because a vow is when a person commits himself to his Lord in obedience. Its wording is not a specific formula without which it is not established; rather, anything that indicates commitment is a vow. Accordingly, the one who has been granted healing by Allah the Exalted must fulfill what he pledged to Allah by going to Makkah and praying two rak'ahs at the Ka'bah, based on 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 فليطعهPray here.
صل ها هناPray here.
صل ها هناDo as you wish.
شأنك إذا(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.
وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَاهَدَ اللّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِن فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُواْ بِهِ وَتَوَلَّواْ وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ * فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُواْ اللّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْذِبُونَforbade (people) taking vows, and said: It 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.
نهى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن النذر، وقال: إنه لا يأتي بخير، وإنما يستخرج به من البخيلSo 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.
فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُواْ اللّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْذِبُونَThe questioner : May Allah bless you.