Hadith 3474

(1) The statement: “Order him to speak, etc.”: This is evidence that anything that harms a person, which is not prescribed by the Book or Sunnah, such as walking barefoot or sitting in the sun, is not an act of obedience to Allah, the Exalted. If his vow is for something other than obedience, it is a sin, as disobedience is the opposite of obedience, so the vow does not form. He ordered Abu Isra’il in this hadith to complete the fast, which is understood as him knowing it was not burdensome for him. Qurtubi said regarding the story of Abu Isra’il: This is the greatest evidence for the majority that no expiation is required for one who vows a sin or something that is not obedience. [Taken from “Nayl al-Awtar” and “Umdat al-Qari”]

(2) The statement: “There is no vow except in what seeks, etc.”: This hadith and the previously mentioned hadith indicate that a vow does not form in permissible acts. If one vows a permissible act, such as saying: “It is upon me to walk to my house, ride my horse, or wear my garment,” there is nothing upon him according to Abu Hanifah and Malik. Shafi’i said: If he violates it, he is obligated by it and has the choice between fulfilling it or offering expiation. Among the evidence for the obligation to fulfill a vow of a permissible act is the story of the woman who vowed to play the tambourine. We say: Playing the tambourine is not among the acts of obedience associated with vows, and at best, it is permissible. However, as it was connected to expressing joy for the safe return of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) from one of his expeditions, and it involved humiliating the disbelievers and vexing the hypocrites, it became akin to some acts of worship. Similar to this is the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding satirizing the disbelievers: “Satirize Quraysh, for it is harder on them than a shower of arrows.” They disagreed about a man who vows as a polytheist and then becomes Muslim. Shafi’i and Ahmad said: If a man obligates something upon himself during his polytheism, such as retreat, charity, or something Muslims obligate for Allah, then becomes Muslim, it is obligatory upon him. Ibrahim an-Nakha’i, Thawri, Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad, Malik, Shafi’i in one opinion, and Ahmad in a narration said: Nothing is obligatory upon him. They argued with the hadith of Aishah: “And whoever vows to disobey Him, let him not disobey Him,” and the hadith of Shu’ayb: “A vow is only what seeks the countenance of Allah.” This indicates that vows are only obligatory if they are acts of drawing closer to Allah, the Exalted, and not obligatory if they are sins against Allah. If a disbeliever says: “It is upon me to fast” or “It is upon me to perform retreat,” if he does it, he is not drawing closer to Allah, as he intended what he worshipped besides Allah, which is a sin. This is indicated by the statement: “There is no vow in disobedience to Allah.” [Taken from “Rahmat al-Ummah,” “Nayl al-Awtar,” “Al-Mirqat,” “Umdat al-Qari,” and Tahawi]