any good; it merely extracts something from the miser.’” A similar report from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appears in the two Sahīh collections. One version reads:

“For a vow brings the son of Adam to what has been decreed.”

The vow prohibited here is one that must nevertheless be fulfilled: making it is prohibited, but once a person has made it, he must fulfill it. Thus, in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.”

He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited making vows because doing so brings no benefit beyond binding oneself to what one has undertaken, which one may then be unwilling to fulfill and thus remain sinful.

It would be better for a person to perform those acts of worship without making a vow. People intend through vows to obtain what they seek, but the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained that vows bring no good. A vow is therefore not a means of obtaining what they seek. For example, someone making a vow might say, “If Allah enables me to memorize the Quran, I pledge to Allah that I will fast three days,” or, “If Allah cures me of this illness, repels this enemy, or settles this debt for me, I will do such-and-such.” He has thereby made the act of worship he has undertaken an exchange for what he seeks.

Yet Allah, glorified is He, does not fulfill that need merely because of the vowed act of worship. Rather, He grants His servant what he seeks to test whether he will be grateful or ungrateful. Gratitude to Him consists in doing what He has commanded and refraining from what He has forbidden. As for that vowed act of worship, it does not suffice as gratitude for that blessing. Nor does Allah bestow that blessing so that His servant will perform that vowed act of worship, which was recommended but has become