the Sacred Law; in doing so he puts himself in hardship and burden by means of the vow, whereas the Muslim is already required to pursue good deeds without making one.

However, if a person vows to carry out an act of obedience, he must fulfill the vow, for Allah the Exalted says, “Whatever you spend in charity or whatever vow you make, Allah certainly knows it” (Q 2:270); and He praises the righteous, saying, “They fulfill their vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread” (Q 76:7); and He commands, “Let them fulfill their vows” (Q 22:29).

In the authentic collections the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.”

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim writes: “One who binds himself to obey Allah falls into four categories: (1) an oath only, (2) a vow only, (3) an oath reinforced by a vow, or (4) a vow reinforced by an oath—such as Allah’s words, ‘And among them are those who pledged to Allah: If He grants us of His bounty, we shall certainly give in charity…’ (Q 9:75). Such a person must fulfill his pledge; otherwise he comes under Allah’s warning, ‘So He caused hypocrisy to follow in their hearts…’ (Q 9:77). This obligation is even stronger than simply saying, ‘I owe Allah such-and-such.’”

The jurists—may Allah have mercy on them—have stipulated that for a vow to take effect, the one making it must be mature, sane, and acting by choice, based on the Prophet’s statement: “The pen has been lifted from three: the minor until….”