Vows for other than Allah
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Question:
If a person makes a vow and says, for example, “If Allah heals my sick person, I will slaughter an animal for Allah at the grave of so-and-so as a means of drawing near to Allah,” is such an action permissible? Are there places where slaughtering for Allah the Exalted is prohibited?
Answer:
If a person vows to slaughter for Allah at one of the graves, this is a vow of disobedience, and it is not permissible to fulfill it. Slaughtering at graves, if the intention is to draw near to the occupant of the grave, is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion, even if the name of Allah is mentioned over the animal. If the intention is to draw near to Allah, it is a major sin and a means to shirk; for it is not permissible to worship at graves. It is not permissible for us to pray at graves, nor to make du'a (supplication) at graves, nor to slaughter at graves, even if we intend nothing but Allah; because this imitates the polytheists and is a means to shirk. Abu Dawud narrated in his chain from Thabit ibn al-Dhahak (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man vowed to slaughter camels at Bawana, so he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: “Was there an idol among the idols of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) that was worshipped there?” They said: No. He said: “Was there a festival among their festivals there?” They said: No. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Fulfill your vow, for there is no fulfillment of a vow in disobedience to Allah, nor in what the son of Adam does not possess” [Narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan (3/235) from the hadith of Thabit ibn al-Dhahak (may Allah be pleased with him)], and its chain of narration meets the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim). It was said in Fath al-Majid: I say: In it is blocking the means (sadd al-dhara'i') and avoiding the imitation of the polytheists, and prohibiting what is a means to that (9). End of quote. With this, it becomes clear that it is not permissible to slaughter for Allah the Exalted at graves, nor in places where there were idols of the polytheists, even if they have been removed, nor in places that the polytheists take as sites for their festivals and rituals.
If a person makes a vow and says, for example, “If Allah heals my sick person, I will slaughter an animal for Allah at the grave of so-and-so as a means of drawing near to Allah,” is such an action permissible? Are there places where slaughtering for Allah the Exalted is prohibited?
Answer:
If a person vows to slaughter for Allah at one of the graves, this is a vow of disobedience, and it is not permissible to fulfill it. Slaughtering at graves, if the intention is to draw near to the occupant of the grave, is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion, even if the name of Allah is mentioned over the animal. If the intention is to draw near to Allah, it is a major sin and a means to shirk; for it is not permissible to worship at graves. It is not permissible for us to pray at graves, nor to make du'a (supplication) at graves, nor to slaughter at graves, even if we intend nothing but Allah; because this imitates the polytheists and is a means to shirk. Abu Dawud narrated in his chain from Thabit ibn al-Dhahak (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man vowed to slaughter camels at Bawana, so he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: “Was there an idol among the idols of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) that was worshipped there?” They said: No. He said: “Was there a festival among their festivals there?” They said: No. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Fulfill your vow, for there is no fulfillment of a vow in disobedience to Allah, nor in what the son of Adam does not possess” [Narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan (3/235) from the hadith of Thabit ibn al-Dhahak (may Allah be pleased with him)], and its chain of narration meets the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim). It was said in Fath al-Majid: I say: In it is blocking the means (sadd al-dhara'i') and avoiding the imitation of the polytheists, and prohibiting what is a means to that (9). End of quote. With this, it becomes clear that it is not permissible to slaughter for Allah the Exalted at graves, nor in places where there were idols of the polytheists, even if they have been removed, nor in places that the polytheists take as sites for their festivals and rituals.
Source
www.alfawzan.af.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.