is that he is not obliged to fulfil it, as held by Abū Hanīfa and al-Shāfi‘ī in his other opinion. This rests on the principle that a vow makes an act obligatory only if acts of the same kind are already obligatory under religious law. The correct view, however, is that every vow to perform an act of obedience must be fulfilled, because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him.”

He did not exclude any act of obedience.

The point here is that the Companions did not regard travelling to visit any such places as recommended—whether sites associated with the prophets, their graves, or their mosques—with the exception of the three mosques. Rather, when some people did such things, others rebuked them, just as they rebuked those who visited the Mount where Allah spoke to Moses. Even the “Cave of Hirā,” where the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to worship before his prophetic mission, was not visited by him after his mission began, nor by any of his Companions. The same applies to the supplication recorded in the Quran.

It is established that, during one of his journeys, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—saw people taking turns praying at a particular place. He asked, “What is this?”

They replied, “A place where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed.”

He said, “A place where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed! Do you want to turn the sites associated with the prophets into places of worship for yourselves? This is precisely what caused those before you to perish. Whoever is there when prayer falls due should pray; otherwise, let him move on.”

This is because Allah has not prescribed any places for Muslims to frequent for worship except mosques alone. As for a place that is not a mosque, He has not prescribed deliberately going there