Vowing or Offering in the Name of Saints or Pious Persons is Prohibited

✦ Authored by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Enhanced with headings and organization for ease of reading.

✦ Vows and Offerings Are Acts of Worship​

In Islam, worship is exclusively for Allah, and vowing (nadhar) or offering (niyāz) in the name of any creature is prohibited and falls under shirk (associating partners with Allah). If a person vows in the name of a saint or pious person, places offerings on graves, or believes the deceased can solve problems or intercede, it constitutes shirk in worship.

✦ Qur’anic Condemnation​

Allah the Almighty states:
{وَجَعَلُوْا لِلّٰہِ مِمَّا ذَرَاَ مِنَ الْحَرْثِ وَالْـاَنْعَامِ نَصِیبًا…}
(Al-An‘ām 6:136)

{وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللّٰهِ}
(Al-Baqarah 2:173)

These verses highlight that associating others in acts meant solely for Allah is a misguided and condemned practice.

✦ Legal Principle from the Sunnah​

Narration of Thābit ibn Ḍaḥāk (رضي الله عنه):

A man vowed to slaughter camels at a place called Buwānah. The Prophet ﷺ asked:

➊ “Was there an idol worshipped there during the Days of Ignorance?”
➋ “Was it a site for one of their festivals?”

When the answer was negative for both, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Fulfill your vow. Indeed, there is no fulfillment of a vow made in disobedience to Allah.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3313; al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr: 2/75–76; Authentic chain)

✦ Further Evidence from the Companions​

Sayyidunā ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ (رضي الله عنهما) narrated a similar situation involving a woman and the Prophet ﷺ, affirming that even permissible vows cannot be fulfilled at sites associated with shirk or pre-Islamic pagan festivals.

✦ Rituals at Shrines: A Deception​

Rituals like niyāz at shrines have been falsely presented as permissible by some to exploit people financially. Claims like “linguistic nadhar” by scholars such as Ahmad Yār Khān Na‘īmī are baseless innovations not found in authentic Sunni texts.

✦ Companions' Practice​

The Sahābah deeply loved the Prophet ﷺ, yet they never vowed or offered in the name of any saint. This proves that such acts were never permitted in Islam.

✦ Views of Ibn al-Qayyim and Other Scholars​

Ibn al-Qayyim stated that mushrikīn would hastily offer vows to anyone other than Allah.
Shāh Walīullāh al-Dihlawī noted that such people seek help from others than Allah, which directly contradicts:

{فَلَا تَدْعُوْا مَعَ اللّٰہِ اَحَدًا}
(Al-Jinn 72:18)

✦ Refuting the Claim of “Linguistic Vow”​

Ahmad Yār Khān’s claim that vows in the name of saints are “linguistic” and not “Shar‘i” is misleading and not supported by Islamic jurisprudence or the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Consensus of scholars including Imām Ibn ‘Ābidīn and ‘Allāmah Ālūsī declares such vows as ḥarām and a form of shirk.

✦ Ḥanafī Perspective​

Even in Ḥanafī fiqh, it is clearly stated that vows at graves are ḥarām, and vowing in the name of creation equates to shirk or kufr.

✦ The False Belief in the Powers of the Dead​

Believing that the deceased can hear, see, influence matters, or know the unseen is a false and polytheistic belief unsupported by any Shar‘i evidence.

✦ Misleading Anecdotes​

Stories such as one in Aḥmad Razā Khān Barelwī’s works about Ahmad Badawī’s shrine gifting a girl to a man are un-Islamic, and dangerously promote immoral and shirk-based ideas.

✦ False Belief in the Abilities of the Deceased​

Beliefs that the deceased know the secrets of hearts or intervene in worldly matters are a deviation from Islam and worse than the beliefs of pre-Islamic idolaters.

✦ Misuse of the Vow Example of Lady Maryam’s Mother​

The vow made by Lady Maryam’s mother was for Allah’s worship, and Allah accepted it:

{فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ}
(Āl ‘Imrān 3:37)

Comparing that to grave-related vows is entirely invalid.

✦ Shar‘i Ruling on Vows​

The Prophet ﷺ explicitly said:
“There is no fulfillment of a vow made in disobedience to Allah.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3313)

✦ Ibn Taymiyyah's Position​

He stated that slaughtering animals at pagan or shirk-associated sites is an act of disobedience and a form of shirk.

✦ Nadhar at Graves — Completely Invalid​

Whether in Allah’s name or others, any vow at a grave is religiously prohibited and invalid. Scholars unanimously agree on this.

✦ Rebuttal of the “Linguistic vs. Shar‘i” Division​

The idea that vows can be divided into “linguistic” for saints and “Shar‘i” for Allah is a dangerous bid‘ah and not supported in Islamic law.

If accepted, this logic would allow all acts of worship—sujūd, ṭawāf, ṣalāh—to be permitted for creation under linguistic pretexts, leading to widespread shirk.

✦ Refutation from Barelwī Scholar Ghulām Rasūl Sa‘īdī​

Even he refutes the linguistic vow division, warning that this logic could legitimize all forms of shirk and is thus entirely rejected.

✦ Misleading Analogy with Oaths​

Ahmad Yār Khān draws a faulty parallel between non-divine oaths and vows, claiming if one is linguistically allowed, so is the other.

However, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed shirk.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3251)

✦ Final Summary​

❶ The linguistic vs. Shar‘i vow classification is invalid.
❷ All acts of worship including vows must be for Allah alone.
❸ Permitting such acts linguistically opens the door to shirk.
❹ Therefore, this concept has no place in Islamic teachings.