I have a quantity of gold with which I vowed to Allah the Exalted to accumulate it and build a mosque with it, and not to sell any of it until the time for construction arrives, and I was
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The questioner : I have a quantity of gold with which I vowed to Allah the Exalted to accumulate it and build a mosque with it, and not to sell any of it until the time for construction arrives so that I can build the mosque with it. I used to pay zakah on it every year, but I recently learned that there is no zakah on an endowment, so I did not pay it this year. Is what I have considered an endowment on which there is no zakah? And the other matter, Your Eminence,The Shaykh : Is it permissible for me to dispose of this gold by trading in it, for example, so that it increases, because I have left work due to compelling reasons, which has kept the weight of this gold the same as it has been for two years? Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
This question requires two things from me:
The first thing: answering the question itself.
And the second thing: the ruling on making a covenant with Allah the Mighty and Majestic regarding righteous deeds. I will start with this first:
I say: Making a covenant with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, regarding righteous deeds is a vow. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows and said: Many people make vows to Allah the Mighty and Majestic or covenant with Allah the Mighty and Majestic to perform acts of obedience to compel themselves to do them, as if they want to force themselves to act. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has forbidden such a thing in His saying: [An-Nur 24:53] meaning you have a known obedience, that is, to obey Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, with calm hearts, not compelled to do what He has commanded.
Then, the consequence of a vow is sometimes severe. If a person vows something to Allah in exchange for a blessing, and that blessing is then obtained but he does not fulfill what he covenanted with Allah, the consequence is very severe, as Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:75-77].
How many are the vow-makers who vow things in exchange for a blessing from Allah or the removal of a calamity, then they regret it and perhaps do not fulfill it. You find that when a person loses hope of recovery from an illness, he says: I have a vow to Allah if Allah heals me from this illness, or heals my father and mother, that I will do such and such acts of worship. Some say they will fast two months, some say they will fast Mondays and Thursdays, some say they will fast three days of every month, and some say they will fast a full year, and the like. Then, when what they vowed for happens, they regret it and go knocking on the door of every scholar, hoping to find a way out.
Therefore, we advise our Muslim brothers in general, and this questioner in particular, not to make vows to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. We say: Obey Allah the Exalted without a vow. Thank Allah the Exalted for His blessings without a vow. Thank Allah for the removal of calamities without a vow.
As for the second matter, which is the first matter that we placed last, namely answering the question, we say: This woman vowed, by her covenant with Allah the Mighty and Majestic, to use the gold she obtains to build a mosque. It is obligatory for her to accumulate the gold that comes to her to build the mosque with it, and it is not permissible for her to dispose of this gold in a way that violates the vow.
However, if the disposal is for the benefit of the vow, such as trading in the gold so that it grows and it becomes easier for her to fulfill what she covenanted with Allah, then there is nothing wrong with it, provided that she is confident of safety and profit.
As for what you mentioned about there being no zakah on an endowment, this is correct. But this gold is not an endowment now. She has not made the gold an endowment; rather, she covenanted with Allah to accumulate it to build a mosque with it. So it is currently in her ownership, and its zakah is obligatory on her, just as she used to pay it before.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
This question requires two things from me:
The first thing: answering the question itself.
And the second thing: the ruling on making a covenant with Allah the Mighty and Majestic regarding righteous deeds. I will start with this first:
I say: Making a covenant with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, regarding righteous deeds is a vow. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows and said:
It does not bring good and does not avert a decree
إنه لا يأتي بخير ولا يرد قضاءAnd 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
وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ قُلْ لا تُقْسِمُوا طَاعَةٌ مَعْرُوفَةٌThen, the consequence of a vow is sometimes severe. If a person vows something to Allah in exchange for a blessing, and that blessing is then obtained but he does not fulfill what he covenanted with Allah, the consequence is very severe, as Allah the Exalted said:
(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.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ * فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَHow many are the vow-makers who vow things in exchange for a blessing from Allah or the removal of a calamity, then they regret it and perhaps do not fulfill it. You find that when a person loses hope of recovery from an illness, he says: I have a vow to Allah if Allah heals me from this illness, or heals my father and mother, that I will do such and such acts of worship. Some say they will fast two months, some say they will fast Mondays and Thursdays, some say they will fast three days of every month, and some say they will fast a full year, and the like. Then, when what they vowed for happens, they regret it and go knocking on the door of every scholar, hoping to find a way out.
Therefore, we advise our Muslim brothers in general, and this questioner in particular, not to make vows to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. We say: Obey Allah the Exalted without a vow. Thank Allah the Exalted for His blessings without a vow. Thank Allah for the removal of calamities without a vow.
As for the second matter, which is the first matter that we placed last, namely answering the question, we say: This woman vowed, by her covenant with Allah the Mighty and Majestic, to use the gold she obtains to build a mosque. It is obligatory for her to accumulate the gold that comes to her to build the mosque with it, and it is not permissible for her to dispose of this gold in a way that violates the vow.
However, if the disposal is for the benefit of the vow, such as trading in the gold so that it grows and it becomes easier for her to fulfill what she covenanted with Allah, then there is nothing wrong with it, provided that she is confident of safety and profit.
As for what you mentioned about there being no zakah on an endowment, this is correct. But this gold is not an endowment now. She has not made the gold an endowment; rather, she covenanted with Allah to accumulate it to build a mosque with it. So it is currently in her ownership, and its zakah is obligatory on her, just as she used to pay it before.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.