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What must a female inquirer do who made two vows—while young—one being "never to disobey Allah" if she is cured, and the other "to fast two months or more" if she is cured, knowing that she does not specifically remember the details of the two vows and has not fully recovered from her illness yet?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the questioner knew that the vow (nadhr) is a commitment to an act of obedience in exchange for healing, and the vow was conditioned upon healing, then she must fulfill it, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him." The definition of the healing that obligates the vow remains subject to the intention of the one who made the vow, whether it is a complete recovery or not. However, if she was ignorant of the meaning of what she uttered, then there is nothing upon her. As for her statement: "If You give me – O Lord – I will never disobey You," this is a vow to abandon sin. Regarding forgotten vows, scholars hold two opinions concerning them: either she tries to determine what she most likely vowed and acts accordingly, or she performs all possibilities, or she offers an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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