transporting it. 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 (12), 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