from three: the child until he reaches maturity, the insane person until he regains sanity, and the sleeping person until he awakens.” (1)
His statement, “even if he is a disbeliever”: the word “even if” indicates a point of scholarly disagreement, as explained previously. That is, even if the one making the vow is a disbeliever, his vow is binding. If he fulfils it while still in disbelief, his liability is discharged; but if he does not fulfil it, he must do so after accepting Islam. This is because Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, “I vowed, in the pre-Islamic era, to observe a night of i'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, “Fulfil your vow.” (2) The command here denotes obligation, and making fulfilment of his vow obligatory upon him is contingent upon its validity; for had it not been valid, fulfilling it would not have been obligatory.
His statement, “even if he is a disbeliever,” indicates a point of disagreement; however, what the author, may Allah have mercy on him, holds is correct, due to the hadith of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
His statement, “The valid type consists of five categories”: what he means is that the binding forms of vows consist of five categories. As for that which is not binding, it is everything other than these five; or, if you wish, it is that whose conditions for becoming binding have not been met. For example, if someone says, “I owe Allah a vow to fast yesterday,” this is not binding, because