Am I Obliged to Fulfill a Vow That I Don’t Remember Verbalizing?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Must I fulfill a vow that I made to Allah if I am unsure whether I pronounced it verbally or not?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

You are not obliged to fulfill the vow; however, it is recommended to do so anyway out of caution.

Back to the Basis

Whenever there is a doubt in a matter, the Sacred Law guides us to refer things back to their basis. Regarding things that must be pronounced aloud, the basis is that you did not verbalize the vow, and establishing the contrary requires proof.

Caution Is Recommended

Despite the above, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Leave that which causes you doubt for that which does not.” [Ahmad]

Due to this narration from the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), caution is recommended.

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.