The Book of Oaths and Vows

Ismaʿil ibn Masʿud reported to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us, from Shuʿbah, who said: Mansur informed me, from ʿAbdullah ibn Murrah, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade vows and said: ‘They bring no good; they only extract something from a miser.’

ʿAmr ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Abu Nuʿaym narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Mansur, from ʿAbdullah ibn Murrah, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade vows and said: ‘They avert nothing; they only extract from the miser.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Mansur, from ʿAbdullah ibn Murrah, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘A vow neither brings anything forward nor delays it; it is only a means by which something is extracted from a miser.’

ʿAbdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us; he said: Abu al-Zinad narrated to us, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘A vow brings the son of Adam nothing that Allah has not decreed for him. It is only a means by which something is extracted from a miser.’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAziz narrated to us, from al-ʿAlaʾ, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not make vows, for a vow cannot avert anything decreed. It is only a means by which something is extracted from a miser.’

Qutaybah reported to us, from Malik, from Talhah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, from al-Qasim, from ʿAishah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us; he said: Malik narrated to us; he said: Talhah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik informed me, from al-Qasim, from ʿAishah, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.’

Muhammad ibn al-ʿAlaʾ reported to us; he said: Ibn Idris narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah, from Talhah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, from al-Qasim, from ʿAishah, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.’

Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla reported to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from Abu Jamrah, from Zahdam, who said: I heard ʿImran ibn Husayn mention that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘The best of you are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.’ I do not know whether he said this twice after the first or three times. Then he mentioned people who betray and are not trusted, who give testimony without being asked to do so, who make vows but do not fulfill them, and among whom obesity becomes widespread. Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman said: ‘This is Nasr ibn ʿImran, Abu Jamrah.’

Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla reported to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Sulayman al-Ahwal narrated to me, from Tawus, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a man leading another man by a cord. The Prophet took hold of it and cut it, saying, ‘It is a vow.’

Yusuf ibn Saʿid reported to us; he said: Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Sulayman al-Ahwal informed me that Tawus related to him, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a man circumambulating the Kaʿbah while another person led him by a nose halter. The Prophet cut it with his own hand, then told him to lead the man by the hand. Ibn Jurayj said: Sulayman also informed me that Tawus related to him, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that the Prophet passed by the man as he circumambulated the Kaʿbah, with another person having tied his hand to someone else’s with a leather strap, thread, or something similar. The Prophet cut it with his own hand and said: ‘Lead him by the hand.’

Muhammad ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us; he said: Ayyub narrated to me; he said: Abu Qilabah narrated to us, from his uncle, from ʿImran ibn Husayn, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘There is no vow in disobedience to Allah, nor concerning what the son of Adam does not possess.’

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Abu al-Mughira narrated to us; he said: al-Awzaʿi narrated to us; he said: Yahya narrated to me, from Abu Qilabah, from Thabit ibn al-Dahhak, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever falsely swears by a religion other than Islam is as he declared. Whoever kills himself with something in this world will be punished with it on the Day of Resurrection. And no vow is binding on a person concerning what he does not possess.’

Yusuf ibn Saʿid informed me; he said: Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Saʿid ibn Abi Ayyub informed me, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, who told him that Abu al-Khayr related to him from ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir, who said: My sister vowed to walk to the House of Allah. She asked me to seek a ruling for her from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. I asked the Prophet on her behalf, and he said: ‘Let her walk and ride.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAli and Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported to us; they said: Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Saʿid, from ʿUbaydullah ibn Zahr—from whom, ʿAmr added, he had received this report—from ʿAbdullah ibn Malik, that ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir informed him he had asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about a sister of his who had vowed to walk barefoot and with her head uncovered. The Prophet said to him: ‘Tell her to cover her head, ride, and fast for three days.’

Bishr ibn Khalid al-ʿAskari reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us, from Shuʿbah, who said: I heard Sulayman narrate from Muslim al-Batin, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: A woman traveled by sea and vowed to fast for a month, but she died before fasting. Her sister came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and told him about it. He instructed her to fast on her sister’s behalf.

ʿAli ibn Hujr and al-Harith ibn Miskin reported to us—the text is al-Harith’s, read to him while I listened—from Sufyan, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that Saʿd ibn ʿUbadah asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, for a ruling about a vow his mother had made and died before fulfilling. He said: ‘Fulfill it on her behalf.’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: Saʿd ibn ʿUbadah sought a ruling from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about a vow his mother had made. She died before fulfilling it, so the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Fulfill it on her behalf.’

Muhammad ibn Adam and Harun ibn Ishaq al-Hamdani reported to us, from ʿAbdah, from Hisham—namely, Ibn ʿUrwah—from Bakr ibn Waʾil, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: Saʿd ibn ʿUbadah came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: ‘My mother died owing a vow that she had not fulfilled.’ He said: ‘Fulfill it on her behalf.’

Ishaq ibn Musa reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, from ʿUmar, who had vowed during the pre-Islamic era to spend a night in devotional retreat. He asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about it, and he instructed him to observe the retreat.