Sunan an-Nasai 3659 — Paying a Deceased Parent’s Vow

Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3659

Ibn Abbas reports that Sa’d asked the Messenger of Allah about a vow that his mother had not completed before her death. The Prophet told him, “Fulfill it on her behalf.” The message is direct and practical. An unfinished vow was brought forward as a real duty, and Sa’d was instructed to complete it for his mother. This hadith about fulfilling a deceased parent’s vow also shows the value of asking rather than making assumptions. The text does not tell us what the vow was, so the explanation should not attach a specific act to it. It simply records the mother’s unfinished vow, Sa’d’s request for guidance, and the Prophet’s answer. The key lesson is to deal responsibly with a known obligation left unfinished by a deceased parent.