This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Travel should not be undertaken except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, this mosque of mine, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque." It is a matter of consensus (19). If walking to a distant mosque were binding upon him, he would have to undertake travel for it. Furthermore, because worship is not specific to one place over another, performing it in the place where he vowed to do it does not constitute an act of drawing near to God (qurba), so it does not become binding upon him by his vow. This differs from a case where he vows to perform an act of worship on a specific day, for it becomes binding upon him to perform it then; this is because God Almighty has designated a specific time and period for His worship, but He did not designate a specific location or place for it, and vows are referred back to their fundamental principles in the Sharia, so they become binding by time but not by location.

Section: If one vows to walk to the House of God Almighty without intending anything by it and without specifying it, it is directed toward the Sacred House of God (the Ka'bah); because it is the one specifically intended, and in customary usage, the absolute term "House of God" refers to it and nothing else, so the absolute vow is directed toward it.

Section: If one vows to walk to the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or the Al-Aqsa Mosque, it is binding upon him. This is the view held by Malik, al-Awza'i, Abu 'Ubayd, and Ibn al-Mundhir. This is also one of the two opinions of al-Shafi'i, while in the other he said: "The obligation of walking to these two is not clear to me, because the virtue (birr) of coming to the House of God is a mandatory duty, whereas the virtue of coming to these two is a voluntary act." Our argument is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Travel should not be undertaken except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, this mosque of mine, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque." Also, because it is one of the three mosques, walking to it becomes binding by the vow, just as with the Sacred Mosque. That which he (al-Shafi'i) mentioned is not binding because every act of drawing near to God becomes obligatory by a vow, even if it does not have an original basis for obligation, such as visiting the sick or attending funerals. It becomes binding upon him by this vow to pray two rak'ahs in the place he reached, because the intent of the vow is the act of drawing near to God and obedience, and this is realized through prayer, so his vow entails that, just as it is binding upon one who vows to walk to the Sacred House of God to perform one of the two rites (Hajj or 'Umrah). A vow of prayer in one of the two mosques is like a vow of walking to it, just as a vow of one of the two rites in the Sacred Mosque is like a vow of walking to it. Abu Hanifah said: Prayer in a specific place does not become binding upon him by a vow, whether it is in the Sacred Mosque or elsewhere; because that which has no basis in the Sharia does not become obligatory by a vow, as evidenced by a vow of prayer in other mosques. Our argument is what was narrated that 'Umar said: "O Messenger of Allah,"