Pledge: An obligation that must be
honored
Q448 :My wife made a pledge to God that she would
fast for four days if I get a job in Saudi Arabia. Last year, her wish
was granted and I began my job here in the Kingdom. Recently, she sent
me a letter saying that because she is unwell she cannot fast those
four days and asking me to do the fasting myself. She also says that
she could not fast in the last part of Ramadan because of her sickness.
Could you please explain whether this is permissible.
A448 : A pledge is a commitment which a person makes
freely to do something if a certain matter that he desires is
fulfilled. Such a pledge becomes an obligation which must be fulfilled.
However, the Prophet says that when a person makes a pledge to God to
do something that pleases God, such as fasting or praying or giving
something to charity, then he must fulfill his pledge, because by not
doing so he incurs God's displeasure and earns a punishment. The
majority of scholars are of the view that it is not advisable to make a
pledge, particularly when a person thinks that by making such a pledge,
he is likely to hasten the accomplishment of what he desires. It is as
if he is saying to God: "Please, God, fulfill this thing which I desire
and I will do this or that for you." Needless to say, such an attitude
is unacceptable, because God does not need our worship or our charity.
It is better to supplicate to God, praying him to fulfill whatever we
desire, because our supplication is an acknowledgment of His Lordship
and a recognition that we are in need of His grace. If we couple our
supplication with voluntarily doing something that pleases God, such as
donating to charity or helping a good cause, then we increase our
chances of having our supplication answered. Those scholars who feel
that making a pledge is appropriate argue that the most rewarding act
of worship is that which is obligatory. When you offer your obligatory
prayer, you earn more reward than what you receive for praying
voluntarily. That is because with obligatory prayer you are rewarded
for praying and for fulfilling the obligation God has imposed on you.
So, when you commit yourself to doing something that pleases God, [you
make it obligatory upon yourself without correlating it to the
fulfillment of a desire] you are to be rewarded for that. Whichever
view you take, scholars are unanimous that when you make a pledge, you
must fulfill it. There is no escape. Indeed, in the Qur'an, God praises
believers as those "who fulfill their pledges." Once a commitment is
made to God, then it must be fulfilled. Going back on it is a grave
sin. Moreover, it is the person who has made that pledge or commitment
who is required to fulfill it. This makes it clear that in the case of
your wife, it is she who is required to fast those four days. Unless
she has committed herself to fasting them at a particular time, then
she may choose the time which is most suitable for her. As long as she
intends fully to honor her pledge at the earliest opportunity, there is
no harm in delaying its fulfillment to a suitable time. But it is
always better to fulfill a pledge as soon as it is due, because one
cannot tell whether he will be able to fulfill it later or not. What
we have established so far is that your wife must do the fasting, and
it is not acceptable that you fast on her behalf. It was not you who
made that pledge, and if you do fast, you will be rewarded for fasting
but the pledge remains unfulfilled and your wife will still have to
honor that pledge. If she is unwell, then she may delay fasting until
she has recovered. Suppose that a person makes a pledge to fast a
certain number of days and then he falls victim to some disease which
is considered to be incurable. Doctors tell him that he would not be
able to fast on any future date. In this case, he is still required to
fulfill his pledge, but the fasting may be substituted by the normal
compensation God has laid down. That is to feed a poor person two meals
for every day of fasting which he cannot do. He may feed one such
person for the required number of days or as many persons for one day,
or he may have any number of permutation, as long as the feeding is for
the same number of days he did not fast.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )