If he vows to pray, a religious prayer becomes incumbent upon him, not a linguistic one. If he says: "It is an obligation upon me to Allah to offer a camel (badana), or a cow, or," he says, "a sheep," then the least of what suffices for that specified type becomes binding upon him. If he vows a camel, a camel in its second year (thaniyah) or older suffices him. If he does not find a camel, then a cow [suffices], and if he does not find one, then seven sheep, because a vow is interpreted according to the custom of the Shari'ah, and it has been established in the Shari'ah that a cow stands in place of a camel, as does seven sheep. If he wishes to bring out a cow or sheep while having the ability to offer a camel, the Qadi said: It does not suffice him. This is what is textually transmitted from al-Shafi'i. What the madhhab of al-Khiraqi necessitates is the permissibility of that, due to his statement: "Whoever is under an obligation to offer a camel and sacrifices seven sheep, it suffices him." If he intends by his vow a camel specifically from the camels, nothing else will suffice him while they are available, according to one view, because it became obligatory by his specific designation, unlike when he speaks absolutely, for it is diverted to camels by the custom of the Shari'ah, and the custom of the Shari'ah in that is that a cow may stand in its place. As for if he intends it from the camels or otherwise, the implication of the madhhab is that nothing else may stand in its place, like all other vowed things. Likewise, if he explicitly states it in his vow, such as if he says: "It is an obligation upon me to Allah to offer a she-camel." It is possible that a cow may stand in its place when the [camel] is unavailable, because it has been designated as a religious offering (hady), and a religious offering has a substitute.

Section: Whoever vows a sacrificial offering (hady), it is incumbent upon him to deliver it to the needy of the Sacred Precinct (Haram), because the absolute term 'hady' requires that. Allah the Almighty said: "An offering brought to the Ka'bah" (7). If he specifies something in his vow, such as if he says: "I will offer a sheep, or a garment, or wheat, or gold," and it is something that can be transported, it is brought to the Haram and distributed among its needy. If it is something that cannot be transported, such as if he says: "It is an obligation upon me to Allah to offer this house of mine, or my land, or this tree of mine," it is sold and its price is sent to the Haram, because it is impossible to offer it specifically, so it is diverted by that (8) to its substitute. It has been narrated from Ibn 'Umar that a man asked him about a woman who vowed to offer a house, and he said: "Sell it and give its price as charity to the needy of the Haram." Likewise, if the vowed object is something that can be transported but transporting it is difficult, such as a heavy piece of wood, he sells it, because that is more beneficial for the needy than transporting it. And if it is something that is not burdensome to transport, but it cannot be distributed by itself and requires selling, one considers what is more beneficial for the needy, whether to sell it in his own land or transport it to be sold there. If both matters are equal, it is sold in whichever place he chooses.

Section: If one vows to offer an animal to a place other than Makkah, such as Madinah or the frontier territories (thughur), or to slaughter it there, the slaughter and the delivery of what he vowed to that place are binding upon him, and the distribution of the offering and the meat of the slaughtered animal to its people, unless there is something in that place for which a vow is not permissible, such as a church, or an idol, or the like, from what the disbelievers or others exalt, which it is not permitted to exalt, such as a tree, or a grave, or a stone, or a spring of water, and the like; because of what Abu Dawud narrated (10), he said: A man vowed during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to slaughter camels at Buwanah (11). He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: "Was there an idol from the idols of Jahiliyyah worshipped there?" They said: "No." He asked: "Was there one of their festivals there?" They said: "No." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Fulfill your vow." And because he included in his vow the benefiting of the poor of that land by delivering the meat to them, and this is an act of drawing near to Allah. So it becomes binding upon him, just as if he had vowed to give charity to them. If there was anything there of what we have mentioned, the vow is not permitted, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Was there an idol or one of the festivals of Jahiliyyah there?" This indicates that if such were there, he would have prevented him from fulfilling his vow, and because in this there is an exaltation of other than what Allah has exalted, resembling the exaltation of idols by disbelievers, so it became forbidden, like the exaltation of idols, and for that reason, the [Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed those who take graves as mosques and lamps (14), and said: "May Allah] (13) curse the Jews, they took the graves of their prophets as mosques (14)." He warns against doing as they did (15). Based on this is the vow of...