—on the grounds that (1) the Prophet used to visit the Qubāʾ Mosque. He replied to the hadith, “Do not saddle up for a journey,” by saying that it merely negates recommendation, not permissibility.
The early authorities, however, appeal to what is recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (2), where the Prophet said: “Do not set out on a journey except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, this mosque of mine, and al-Aqṣā Mosque.”
All the leading imams (3) agree that this hadith is authentic and must be acted upon. Consequently, were someone to vow—by tightening his saddle (4)—to travel in order to pray or observe retreat in any mosque or shrine other than these three, that vow would not be binding on him by unanimous agreement.
If he vowed to travel to the Sacred Mosque for Hajj (5) or ʿUmrah, it would, by consensus of the scholars, become obligatory for him.
Similarly, if he vowed to go to the Prophet’s Mosque or to al-Aqṣā Mosque for prayer or retreat, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī—in one of his two opinions—and Aḥmad hold that he must carry out that vow, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah (6) does not; for in his view a vow only renders obligatory what is already obligatory in its genus according to the Law (7).