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She
made a vow to fast but she does not have the ability to do
so
Question:
A woman vowed that if she gave birth to a healthy baby and
it lived for at least one year, she would then fast for a
year. Such did occur and the baby lived for more than a year.
But she is not able to perform the fast.
Response:
There is no doubt that to make a vow of obedience is an act
of worship. Allaah has praised those who fulfill such vows.
Allaah says:
{They
are those who fulfill their vows and they fear a Day whose
evil will be wide-spreading}, [ Soorah
al-Insaan, Aayah
7].
It
is confirmed that the Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) said:
((Whoever
makes a vow to obey Allaah should obey Him. Whoever makes
a vow to disobey Allaah must not disobey Him)),
[al-Bukhaaree].
A
man made a vow to sacrifice a camel at a certain location.
He came to the Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) and the Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) asked him:
((Was
there an idol from the time of Ignorance that was worshipped
there?)).
He
said:"No," He then said:
((Was
there a celebration from their celebrations there?)).
He
said: "No." So the Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) then said:
((Fulfill
your oath. There is no fulfilling of oaths that are disobedience
to Allaah or concerning something that a human does not possess)),
[Abu Daawood].
The
one who is asking the question mentioned that she vowed to
fast a whole year. Fasting a whole year is a continuous type
of fasting that is considered a type of permanent fasting
and permanent or continuous fasting is disliked. It is confirmed
in the Saheeh
that the Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) said:
((Whoever
performs a perpetual fast neither fasted nor broke his fast)).
There
is no doubt that a disliked form of worship is a type of disobedience
to Allaah. Therefore, one does not fulfill an oath to perform
such an act. Shaykh
al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "If a person vows to perform
an act of worship that is disliked, like praying the entire
night or fasting the entire day, it is not obligatory to fulfill
such an oath."
Therefore,
the questioner must make an expiation for the oath by feeding
ten poor people with a half a saa'
of dates or other common staple foods of the land. If she
is not able to, then she should fast three consecutive days.
And
with Allaah lies all success and may Allaah send prayers and
salutations upon our Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam) and his family and his companions.
The
Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Fataawa
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