What is incumbent upon me regarding the difficult and arduous vows I made while suffering from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (waswas), and must I fulfill them, or can I expiate them as an oath?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A person afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not held accountable for any words or actions that result from the compulsion of the (whispers/suggestions of Shaytan), because they are in a state akin to being coerced. Therefore, if the desire to make a vow did not stem from free choice, but was rather an overwhelming urge due to waswas, then the vow is not valid, and there is nothing binding on the person suffering from waswas.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/139323
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 139323
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy