What if voluntary worship undermines obligations or causes serious harm?
2026-09-20
T22 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
Selected excerpt from a longer original answer about vows and devotional excess. It is not a general condemnation of difficult worship. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
الجواب
فمتى كانت العبادة توجب له ضررا يمنعه عن فعل واجب أنفع له منها كانت محرمة؛ مثل أن يصوم صوما يضعفه عن الكسب الواجب.
أو يمنعه عن العقل، أو الفهم الواجب، أو يمنعه عن الجهاد الواجب.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Answer
Whenever an act of worship causes a person harm that prevents him from performing an obligation more beneficial to him than that act, it is forbidden—for example, fasting in a way that weakens him so that he cannot undertake the earning that is obligatory upon him.
Or [fasting that] prevents him from exercising his reason, from the understanding required of him, or from the jihad that is obligatory upon him.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 25/272–274
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited edition and location. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.