then performing the pilgrimage, freeing a slave, or the like, becomes incumbent upon me. In such a case the person may choose either to do what he promised or to pay the expiation for an oath. This is supported by the hadith of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declare, ‘There is no binding vow made in anger; its expiation is the expiation for an oath.’” Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr recorded it in his Sunan.
- A vow concerning something merely permissible—such as vowing to keep wearing one’s garment or to ride one’s mount. Here, too, he may either carry out the act or, if he prefers, offer the expiation for an oath, just as in the second category.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah held that nothing at all is due for a vow of this kind. He cited the report in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: While the Prophet ﷺ was delivering a sermon, he noticed a man standing. He asked about him and was told, “That is Abū Isrāʾīl; he has vowed to stand in the sun, not seek shade, not speak, and to fast.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Tell him to speak, to seek shade, to sit down, and to complete his fast.”
- A vow to commit a sin, such as vowing to drink wine, to fast during the days of menstruation, or to fast on the Day of Sacrifice. It is impermissible to fulfill such a vow, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever vows to disobey Allah must not disobey Him.” The hadith therefore proves that a sinful vow may never be fulfilled, for sin is never lawful under any circumstance. Included in this category is the vow made to graves or to those buried in them—an act that, as noted earlier, constitutes major shirk. According to some scholars the person must expiate this vow with the expiation for an oath; this opinion is transmitted from Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, and Samura ibn Jundub—may Allah be pleased with them all.