SECTION ON VOWS · 25 – FULFILLING THE VOW OF THE DECEASED ON THEIR BEHALF
3307 – It is narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah said, "My mother passed away while she had an unfulfilled vow (nadhr) upon her. May I fulfill her vow on her behalf?" He sought a legal ruling from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Fulfill it on behalf of your mother." [162]
EXPLANATION
This noble hadith indicates that the vows (nadhr) of the deceased should be fulfilled by their heirs. According to Imām al-Aʿẓam (Abū Ḥanīfa), for the vows and expiations (kaffāra) of the deceased to be obligatory upon the heirs, the deceased must have made a bequest (waṣiyya) regarding them. If there is no bequest, the heirs are not obliged to fulfill them. According to the Shāfiʿī and Mālikī schools, vows made before the illness of death are like debts and are paid from the entirety of the deceased's estate. If the vow was made at the time of death, it is paid from one third of the estate. (Maʿāllim as-Sunan, vol. 4, p. 384)
3308 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): A woman boarded a ship (and set out to sea). She made a vow (nadhr), saying, "If Allah saves me safely from this sea, I will fast for a month." Allah saved her from the sea, but she was unable to fulfill her vow until she died. The daughter or sister of the woman came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and related this. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded her to fast on behalf of the deceased. [163]
3309 – It is narrated from Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him): A woman came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I had gifted a slave-girl to my mother. My mother died and left that slave-girl as inheritance." The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "You have received your reward (for the gift), and she has returned to you as inheritance." The woman said, "My mother died, and she had a debt of fasting for a month." The narrator mentioned a report similar to that of ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn mentioned previously. [164]