It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), after returning from Ta’if, asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at the place of Ji’ranah:“O Messenger of Allah! In the days of ignorance, I had vowed to observe i’tikaf for one day in Masjid al-Haram. What do you command regarding this?”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Go and observe i’tikaf for one day.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had granted him a slave girl from the spoils of war (khums). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) freed all the captives, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard their voices; they were saying:“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has set us free.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked:“What are they saying?”The people replied:“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has freed the captives.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to his son):“O Abdullah! Go to that slave girl and set her free as well.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about a matter, saying, "My mother had made a vow, but she passed away before fulfilling it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Fulfill it on her behalf."

`Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) says that my sister made a vow to walk barefoot to the House of Allah, so she asked me to inquire from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said that she may walk and also ride.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw an old man who was walking between his two sons, leaning on them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "What has happened to him?" The people said, "He has vowed to walk on foot." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah is not in need of him punishing himself," and the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered him to ride.

Narrated by Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) forbade making vows and said that it brings no benefit (i.e., it does not avert any calamity nor does it change destiny). It is only a means by which wealth is extracted from a miser (i.e., a miser does not usually give charity, but when a calamity befalls, he gives money under the pretext of a vow, and thus the needy benefit).

`Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: A vow does not bring a person closer to anything that Allah has not decreed for him, but the vow is in accordance with destiny. Because of a vow, the miser parts with that wealth which he does not want to spend.

‘Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Thaqif and Banu Aqil were allies of each other. Thaqif captured two men from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) captured a man from Banu Aqil and also seized ‘Adhba’ (the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) along with him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to him while he was tied up. He said,“O Muhammad! O Muhammad!”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to him and asked,“What is he saying?”He replied,“For what crime have you captured me, and for what crime have you seized the she-camel that used to outpace the camels of the pilgrims (i.e., ‘Adhba’)?”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“It is a great crime, and I have captured you in retaliation for the crime of your friends, Thaqif.”Saying this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left, but he again called out,“O Muhammad, O Muhammad!”And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was extremely compassionate and merciful, so he returned to him and asked,“What is he saying?”He replied,“I am a Muslim.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“If you had said this at a time when you were in control of your affairs (i.e., before being captured), you would have certainly been saved.”Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left, but he again called out,“O Muhammad, O Muhammad!”(peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came again and asked,“What is he saying?”He replied,“I am hungry, feed me, and I am thirsty, give me water.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Take this (i.e., he gave him food and water).”Then he was released in exchange for the two men whom Thaqif had captured. The narrator said that a woman from the Ansar was captured and ‘Adhba’ was also captured. Then that woman was tied up, and the disbelievers were resting their animals in front of their houses, when she freed herself from her bonds and came to the camels. Whenever she approached a camel, it would make a sound, so she would leave it, until she came to ‘Adhba’, and it did not make a sound, and it was a very gentle (noble) she-camel. The woman sat on its back and urged it on, so it set off. The disbelievers found out and pursued ‘Adhba’ (each mounting their own camel), but ‘Adhba’ exhausted them (i.e., none could catch her because ‘Adhba’ was so swift). The woman made a vow that,“O Allah! If ‘Adhba’ saves me, I will sacrifice her.”When the woman reached Madinah and people saw her, they said,“This is ‘Adhba’, the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”The woman said,“I made a vow that if Allah saves me on ‘Adhba’, I will sacrifice her.”When the Companions heard this, they went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said (in amazement),“Subhan Allah! How badly this woman has repaid ‘Adhba’ (i.e., ‘Adhba’ saved her life and she wants to take ‘Adhba’s life). She made a vow that if Allah saves her on the back of ‘Adhba’, she will sacrifice ‘Adhba’ itself. Any vow made for a sinful act should not be fulfilled, nor should a vow be fulfilled regarding something over which a person has no ownership.”

`Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: The expiation for a vow is the same as the expiation for an oath. (That is, feeding ten needy people, or clothing ten needy people, or freeing a slave. If one is unable to do these, then fast for three days.)