Ruling 2657. A vow is when a person makes it obligatory (wājib) on himself, for the sake of Allah the Exalted, to perform a good deed or refrain from doing something that is better not to do.

Ruling 2658. In a vow, a formula (ṣīghah) must be said. It is not necessary that the formula be said in Arabic; therefore, if a person says [in English, for example], ‘Should such and such sick person get better, it is incumbent upon me to give £100 to a poor person (faqīr) for the sake of Allah’, his vow is valid (ṣaḥīḥ). And if he says, ‘For the sake of Allah, I vow to do such and such a thing’, then based on obligatory precaution (al‑iḥtiyāṭ al‑wājib), he must do that thing. However, if he does not mention the name of Allah the Exalted and only says, ‘I make a vow’, or if he mentions the name of one of the Friends (awliyāʾ) of Allah the Exalted, the vow is not valid. If a vow is valid and a duty-bound person (mukallaf)[1] intentionally (ʿamdan) does not act according to it, he will have sinned and he must give recompense (kaffārah). The kaffārah for not fulfilling one’s vow is the same as the kaffārah for not fulfilling one’s oath (qasam), which will be mentioned later.[2]

Ruling 2659. A person who makes a vow must be of the age of legal responsibility (bāligh) and sane (ʿāqil). He must also make the vow of his own volition (ikhtiyār) and have the intention (qaṣd) to make it. Therefore, a vow is not valid if it is made by someone who has been compelled to make it, or who in his anger made it unintentionally or did not make it of his own volition.

Ruling 2660. With regard to a person who is foolish with finances (safīh) – i.e. someone who spends his wealth on futile tasks – if, for example, he vows to give something to the poor (fuqarāʾ), it is not valid. The same applies to someone who has been proclaimed bankrupt (mufallas); therefore, if he vows to, for example, give something to the poor from his property over which he has been prohibited from having disposal, it is not valid.

Ruling 2661. The vow made by a wife without prior permission from or subsequent consent of her husband on a matter that infringes on his conjugal rights is not valid, even if she made the vow before getting married. As for the validity of a wife’s vow made with respect to her own wealth without her husband’s consent, this is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it is not valid].[3] Therefore, in such a case, precaution (iḥtiyāṭ) must be observed except for [a vow made for] performing hajj, giving alms tax (zakat), giving alms to the poor (ṣadaqah), being benevolent to her mother and father, and maintaining good family ties (ṣilat al‑arḥām).

Ruling 2662. If a wife makes a vow with her husband’s consent, he cannot annul her vow or prevent her from fulfilling it.

Ruling 2663. The vow of a son/daughter is not conditional on the father’s consent. However, if the father or mother prohibits him/her from doing what he/she has vowed to do, and their prohibition is due to their compassion for him/her, and his/her opposition would annoy them, then his/her vow becomes invalid (bāṭil).

Ruling 2664. A person can only vow to perform something that is possible for him to perform. Therefore, if a person who, for example, is unable to walk to Karbala vows to do so, his vow is not valid. If at the time of making a vow one is able to perform it but later becomes unable to do so, his vow becomes void (bāṭil) and nothing is obligatory for him [concerning this matter]. The exception to this is if he vows to keep a fast, in which case if he cannot do so, the obligatory precaution is that he must give 750 grams of food to the poor for every day [that he had vowed to fast but was unable to], or he must give 1.5 kilograms of food to someone to fast on his behalf.

Ruling 2665. If a person vows to do something unlawful (ḥarām) or disapproved (makrūh), or to refrain from doing something obligatory (wājib) or recommended (mustaḥabb), his vow is not valid.

Ruling 2666. If a person vows to do – or refrain from doing – something permissible (mubāḥ), in the event that doing it and refraining from doing it are legally (sharʿan) the same from all aspects, his vow is not valid. However, if doing it is legally better from some aspect, and a person makes a vow intending that aspect – for example, he vows to eat something that would give him the strength to worship (ʿibādah) – his vow is valid. Similarly, if refraining from doing it is legally better from some aspect and a person makes a vow to refrain from doing that thing and intends that aspect – for example, he vows to refrain from smoking as it is harmful and an obstacle to performing religious duties in the best way – his vow is valid. However, if refraining from smoking becomes harmful for him, his vow becomes invalid.

Ruling 2667. If a person vows to perform his obligatory prayers (ṣalāh) in a place where there is no particular reason for one to receive more reward for performing prayers there – for example, he vows to perform prayers in an ordinary room – then, in the event that performing prayers there is legally better from some aspect – for example, due to the solitude there one is able to perform prayers with presence of heart – in such a case, if he makes a vow concerning this aspect, his vow is valid.

Ruling 2668. If a person vows to do something, he must do it in the manner he vowed to do it. Therefore, if he vows to give alms to the poor on the first day of the month, or to fast on that day, or to perform the prayer for the first of the month, in the event that he does the vowed act before or after that day, it does not suffice. Also, if he vows to give alms to the poor once a particular sick person gets better, in the event that he gives the alms before the sick person gets better, it is not sufficient.

Ruling 2669. If a person vows to keep a fast but does not specify when and for how long, in the event that he fasts for one day, it is sufficient. If he vows to perform prayers but does not specify how many prayers or their particulars, in the event that he performs a single two-unit (rakʿah) prayer or the witr prayer,[4] it is also sufficient. If he vows to give alms to the poor but does not specify the type of thing he will give or its quantity, in the event that he gives something about which it could be said, ‘He has given alms to the poor’, he will have fulfilled his vow. If he vows to do something for the sake of Allah the Exalted, then in case he performs one prayer, fasts for one day, or gives something to the poor as alms, he will have fulfilled his vow.

Ruling 2670. If a person vows to fast on a specific day, he must fast on that day. In case he intentionally does not fast on that day, he must not only make it up [i.e. keep a qaḍāʾ fast] but give kaffārah as well. However, he can choose to travel on that day and not fast, and in the event that he is already on a journey, it is not necessary for him to make an intention to stay [for ten or more days] and fast. In case a person does not fast due to travelling or some other legitimate excuse (ʿudhr), such as sickness or menstruation (ḥayḍ), it is necessary for that person to keep a qaḍāʾ fast, but there is no kaffārah.

Ruling 2671. If a person volitionally does not fulfil his vow, he must give kaffārah.

Ruling 2672. If a person vows to refrain from an act for a specific period, then once the period comes to an end, he can do the act. If before the period comes to an end he does the act owing to forgetfulness or necessity, then nothing is obligatory for him [concerning this matter]; however, he must still not do the act [again] until the period comes to an end. In the event that he does the act again without a legitimate excuse before the period comes to an end, he must give kaffārah.

Ruling 2673. If a person vows to refrain from an act but does not specify a period for it, in the event that he does the act owing to forgetfulness, necessity, negligence, error, or because someone compelled him, or he was inculpably ignorant (al‑jāhil al‑qāṣir),[5] then in any of these cases, it is not obligatory for him to give kaffārah. However, the vow remains in place; therefore, if he does the act volitionally from then onwards, he must give kaffārah.

Ruling 2674. If a person vows to fast on a specific day every week, such as Friday, in the event that Eid al-Fiṭr or Eid al-Aḍḥā[6] falls on a Friday, or if on Friday the person has another legitimate excuse to not fast, such as travelling or ḥayḍ, he/she must not fast on that day but must keep a qaḍāʾ fast.

Ruling 2675. If a person vows to give a specific amount of alms to the poor, in the event that he dies before he is able to give the alms, it is not necessary for that amount to be given as alms to the poor from his estate. However, it is better that his bāligh heirs give the amount on behalf of the deceased from their share [of the inheritance].

Ruling 2676. If a person vows to give alms to a specific poor person, he cannot then give it to another poor person. If the specified poor person dies, it is not necessary for the person who made the vow to give the alms to his heirs.

Ruling 2677. If a person vows to visit [i.e. go for ziyārah to] the burial place of a specific Imam (ʿA), such as His Eminence Abā ʿAbdillāh [Imam al-Ḥusayn] (ʿA), in the event that he goes for ziyārah of another Imam (ʿA), it is not sufficient. If he is unable to go for ziyārah of that particular Imam (ʿA) owing to a legitimate excuse, then nothing is obligatory for him [concerning this matter].

Ruling 2678. If a person vows to go for ziyārah but does not vow to perform the ritual bathing (ghusl) for ziyārah nor to perform the prayer for ziyārah, it is not necessary for him to perform them.

Ruling 2679. If a person vows to give something to the shrine (ḥaram) of one of the Infallible Imams (ʿA) or one of the children of the Infallible Imams (ʿA) but does not have a specific intention in mind as to how it should be spent, then it must be spent for constructing, illuminating, and carpeting the shrine, or for any similar use. If this is not possible or the shrine is totally needless of the vowed item, it must be used in helping needy visitors to the shrine.

Ruling 2680. If a person vows to give something in the name of the Most Noble Messenger of Allah (Ṣ), one of the Infallible Imams (ʿA), one of the children of the Infallible Imams (ʿA), or one of the past scholars, etc., then in the event that he intends for it to be spent in a specific manner, he must give it to be spent in that manner. However, if he does not intend for it to be spent in any specific way, he must give it to be spent on something that is associated with that distinguished personality, such as helping poor visitors to his shrine, or he must give it to be spent on his shrine or in a way that would elevate his name.

Ruling 2681. If a person vows to give a sheep to the poor as alms, or to give it in the name of one of the Infallible Imams (ʿA), then in the event that it gives milk or gives birth before it is given to fulfil the vow, the milk/lamb belongs to the person who made the vow unless his intention [when he made the vow] included the milk/lamb. However, the sheep’s wool and the amount of weight it gains are part of the vow.

Ruling 2682. If a person vows that if a sick person gets better or a traveller returns [safely from his journey], he will do some act, then in the event that it becomes known that before he made the vow the sick person had got better, or the traveller had returned, it is not necessary for him to fulfil the vow.

Ruling 2683. If a father or mother vows to marry his/her daughter to a sayyid[7] or someone else, their vow with respect to their daughter is not valid, and it does not place any responsibility (taklīf) on her.

Ruling 2684. If a person makes a covenant with Allah the Exalted that he will do some act if a particular legitimate need is fulfilled, he must do the act once his need is fulfilled. If he makes a covenant to do something without mentioning any need, it becomes obligatory for him to do the act.

Ruling 2685. As with a vow, a formula must be said in a covenant. For example, a person says, ‘I make a covenant with Allah the Exalted to do such and such act’. The act the person covenants to do does not need to be legally better; rather, it is sufficient that it is not something that has been legally prohibited and would be preferred in the opinion of rational people, or it is in the person’s interest that it be done. If the act is no longer in the person’s interest after the covenant is made or is no longer legally preferred, even though it may not have become disapproved, it is not necessary to fulfil the covenant.

Ruling 2686. If a person does not fulfil his covenant, he will have sinned and must give kaffārah. The kaffārah is feeding sixty poor people, fasting two consecutive months, or freeing a slave.