do such-and-such,” or “I vow not to do such-and-such.” Alternatively, he may omit any mention of a vow and say: “I undertake for Allah to give such-and-such,” or “not to do such-and-such,” or “to do such-and-such in gratitude to Allah Most High.” All these expressions have the same ruling according to Mālik’s school. Some scholars of the school held that if someone says, “I undertake for Allah to give such-and-such,” without mentioning a vow, it is not binding upon him, since it is merely a false assertion. Mālik’s position—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—is the correct one. Someone who uses this expression must fall into one of three cases: he intends a vow, he intends a statement of fact, or he has no particular intention. If he intends a statement of fact, there is no disagreement that this does not bind him. If he intends a vow, his words cannot properly be construed as a statement of fact. Were that permissible, his words “I am bound by a vow of such-and-such” could likewise be construed as a statement of fact. If he has no particular intention, it is more appropriate to construe his words as a vow, which serves a purpose and involves obedience to Allah, than as a lie, which serves no purpose and is, indeed, a sin.
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A permissible vow contingent upon a future event is, for example, when someone says: “I undertake for Allah to give such-and-such if Allah cures me of my illness,” or “if my absent loved one returns,” and similar conditions whose occurrence is not brought about by his own action. An exception is something for which he fixes a time in perpetuity; Mālik disliked this.
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If, however, he makes the obligation he undertakes contingent upon an action that he is able either to perform or to refrain from, saying, for example, “If I do such-and-such,” or “If I do not do such-and-such, then I am bound to do such-and-such,” this is not a vow but a disliked oath, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever swears an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.” Nevertheless, according to Mālik, it is binding concerning those acts of obedience in which a vow is binding, and concerning divorce, even though divorce is not an act of obedience to Allah. This is because someone who uses divorce in an oath has pronounced a divorce subject to a condition. The court enforces it against him, as it does the emancipation of a specified slave, unlike other undertakings, such as walking or giving charity to a specified recipient or to an