, may Allah be pleased with her, who reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever vows to obey Allah must obey Him, and whoever vows to disobey Allah must not disobey Him.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, also said, “Pray here,” and said:

“If you prayed here, it would suffice in place of a prayer—or every prayer—in Jerusalem.”

He specifically instructed him to pray in the Sacred Mosque; he did not say, “Pray wherever you wish.” He also said:

“If you prayed here, it would suffice in place of a prayer in Jerusalem.”

Thus, he made prayer in the superior mosque—not prayer just anywhere—the means of fulfilling the vow. This shows that he directed him to the alternative only because it was superior, not because the place of prayer had never become binding.

His statements establishing the superiority of his mosque and the Sacred Mosque over al-Aqsā Mosque are recorded in the collections of authentic hadith. The superiority of the Sacred Mosque over his mosque is recorded in the Sunan collections and the Musnad. It is also established in the two Sahīh collections, through the reports of Abū Hurayrah and Abū Sa‘īd, that he said:

“No journey should be undertaken except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, al-Aqsā Mosque, and this mosque of mine.”

In a wording recorded by Muslim:

“One travels only to three mosques.”

This indicates that travelling to these three mosques is an act of piety, a means of drawing near to Allah, and a righteous deed. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, permitted him to go to al-Aqsā, despite instructing him to pray in the Sacred Mosque and telling him that doing so would fulfil his vow. This shows that his instruction was a recommendation, and that the man had the choice of performing the very act he had vowed or performing something superior to it.

It is well known that a vow obliges a person to perform the act of obedience he has vowed to Allah Most High, because the Prophet said:

“Whoever vows to obey Allah must obey Him.”

This is an obligation he has imposed upon himself, not one originally imposed by Islamic law.