The Ruling on Vowing to Other Than Allah, Such as the Awliya at the Graves

Question:
The most important issue in this episode is one sent by a group of noble listeners who ask and say: What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding the wealth that is vowed to the awliya (close friends of Allah) and placed in boxes? And does anyone have a right to it by virtue of his lineage to this wali (close friend of Allah)?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Vowing is among the acts of worship that must be made sincere for Allah alone; because it is a commitment by the one obligated to do what is not obligatory upon him from the perspective of the Shari'ah, in order to exalt the one to whom the vow is made and to draw near to Him. This is not appropriate for anyone but Allah alone. So no one should commit to prayer, fasting, charity, or anything else, not for an angel brought near, not for a sent prophet, not for a star, not for a tree, not for a stone, not for a jinn, and not for anything else. These vows that some ignorant people offer to the awliya, the people of the graves, are considered major shirk (associating partners with Allah), just as slaughtering for other than Allah and calling for aid from the dead are all part of the category of major shirk. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [Al-Isra: 23], and He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Bayyinah: 5]. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : [Al-Fatihah: 5]. He said, Exalted is He: [Al-Baqarah: 270], the meaning being that He will reward you for it (Glorified and Exalted is He).
So vows are acts of worship and means of drawing near that must be for Allah alone. And with that, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited vows. He said: .
So it is not befitting for the believer to make a vow. But when he does make a vow, let it be for Allah alone and for no other (Glorified and Exalted is He). If he says: "It is obligatory upon me for Allah to pray so much, or fast so much, or give so much in charity," then he must fulfill it; because it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: , which al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from the hadith of the Mother of the Believers, A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). If he says: "It is obligatory upon me for Allah to pray two rak'ahs of the Duha prayer," then he must fulfill it. If he says: "It is obligatory upon me for Allah to give so much in charity, or so many dirhams, or so many sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of wheat or barley or rice or anything else," then he must fulfill it. Or if he says: "It is obligatory upon me for Allah to perform Hajj," then Hajj becomes obligatory upon him. If he says: "It is obligatory upon me for Allah to perform 'Umrah," then 'Umrah becomes obligatory upon him, and so on, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
As for vowing to the awliya, the people of the graves, the jinn, the stars, the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them), or others among the created beings, this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah, just as if one slaughtered for other than Allah, or called for aid from other than Allah, whether from the dead, the jinn, the stars, or the like. All of this is shirk with Allah by the consensus of the scholars. This occurred among the later generations who were ignorant of the tawhid (the oneness of Allah) of Allah and ignorant of the rulings of His Shari'ah, so they fell into shirk. Some of those who claim affiliation with knowledge may also fall into this due to their lack of insight into the correct creed that the Salaf (the earliest generations) of the Ummah (the Muslim community) followed.
These vows, which are in the form of money and are collected in boxes around the graves, their ruling is the ruling of money that has no owner. It is taken for the Muslim treasury, or the one in authority takes it and spends it in the interests of the Muslims, such as helping the poor and needy, or repairing roads or restrooms, or similar public interests. It is not returned to its owners, and no one is allowed to take it from the people. Rather, it reverts to the one in authority if the one in authority is righteous and implements the law of Allah; otherwise, it is for the people of insight from among the scholars to take it and distribute it in the ways of righteousness and good to the poor and those in need, and the like. They should make the people aware and warn them about it, cautioning them that it is what is wrong and that it is associating partners with Allah, so that they do not return to it. These boxes are to be removed and taken down from the mosques and other places, because they are what is wrong and because they are a call to associating partners with Allah . It is obligatory to remove them and warn against them, and to make the people aware and show them that this is major shirk. Whatever money is found in them when they are removed is to be spent in works of goodness, as mentioned previously, along with their removal from the mosques and alerting the general public and warning them against such things. It is not permissible to draw near to other than Allah, neither by prayer, nor by vows, nor by charity, nor by anything else, neither to the people of the graves, nor to idols, nor to stars, nor to the jinn, nor to anything else. Worship is for Allah alone , as He said : [Surah al-Zumar: 2], [Surah al-Bayyinah: 5].
And worship is everything that Allah and His Messenger have commanded. Some of the scholars said: Its meaning is: A comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, from the apparent and hidden words and deeds. It can be verbal, it can be practical, it can be with the heart, it can be with the tongue, it can be with the limbs. Fear of Allah, exalting Him, and loving Him are these are acts of worship of the heart. And so is his hope in Him, Exalted is He, and the like of the other acts of worship of the heart.
And there are practical acts of worship, such as prayer, zakah (the obligatory alms), charity, slaughtering, and vows. These are practical acts of worship.
And it can be verbal, such as the vow in terms of the speech. So the vow is a verbal act of worship, and what results from it in terms of charity and the like are financial acts of worship.
So the conclusion is that all acts of worship, whether verbal or practical, of the heart or of the tongue, must be for Allah alone (Glorified and Exalted is He). And it is not permissible for anyone to direct them to any created being, whether a wali (close friend of Allah), a messenger, an angel, a jinn, an idol, or anything else. We ask Allah for guidance and safety for everyone.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.