Discover the meaning of the term Al-ndhr (نذر) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readMaking the specific permitted act obligatory upon oneself, out of veneration for God Most High.
Making the specific permitted act obligatory upon oneself out of veneration for God Most High.
Making obligatory, in its specific entity, for God Most High, that whose kind is already obligatory, such that following the funeral procession does not thereby become obligatory.
- With the dotted dad (nadhara) - In language: promising good or evil. Making obligatory: one says 'he vowed the blood of so-and-so', that is, he made killing him obligatory. Committing oneself to doing a thing or leaving it. Al-mundhir: the warner who informs people of what may have befallen them, an enemy or otherwise, and he is also the frightener. The root of warning (al-indhar) is informing: one says 'I warned him with a warning' when I informed him. I am mundhir and nadhir: an informer, a frightener and a warner; 'nadhartu bi-hi': when I made it known; hence the hadith: 'when he learned that they had concerted against him, he fled.'
The thing 'nadhran, nadhuran': he made it obligatory upon himself. In the noble hadith: 'Do not make vows, for a vow changes nothing of the decree; it only draws spending out of the miser.' The thing 'nadhran': he was informed of it; let him therefore beware of it and prepare for it.
The undertaking, by a legally responsible Muslim, of a non-obligatory act of devotion, in specific entities, by verbal expression.
Binding one's resolve to a good whose doing is yet to come, or to what is expected and which one commits oneself to; it is the lowest form of spending, especially when made conditional. Al-Hurrali mentioned it.
Making the specific permitted act obligatory upon oneself by speech out of veneration for God Most High, provided it is of the kind of the obligatory; it is a purposive act of worship; it is absolute if not suspended by a condition, otherwise it is conditional.
﴿وَمَآ أَنفَقْتُم مِّن نَّفَقَةٍ أَوْ نَذَرْتُم مِّن نَّذْرٍۢ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُهُۥ ۗ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ﴾
« And whatever you spend of expenditures or make of vows - indeed, Allah knows of it. And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. »
Surah البقرة : 270
﴿وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْـِٔدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـٰرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍۢ وَنَذَرُهُمْ فِى طُغْيَـٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ﴾
« And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes just as they refused to believe in it the first time. And We will leave them in their transgression, wandering blindly. »
Surah الأنعام : 110
﴿قَالُوٓا۟ أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ وَحْدَهُۥ وَنَذَرَ مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا ۖ فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ﴾
« They said, "Have you come to us that we should worship Allah alone and leave what our fathers have worshipped? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful." »
Surah الأعراف : 70
﴿۞ وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ ٱلشَّرَّ ٱسْتِعْجَالَهُم بِٱلْخَيْرِ لَقُضِىَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ ۖ فَنَذَرُ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَآءَنَا فِى طُغْيَـٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ﴾
« And if Allah was to hasten for the people the evil [they invoke] as He hastens for them the good, their term would have been ended for them. But We leave the ones who do not expect the meeting with Us, in their transgression, wandering blindly »
Surah يونس : 11
﴿قُلِ ٱنظُرُوا۟ مَاذَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَمَا تُغْنِى ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتُ وَٱلنُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾
« Say, "Observe what is in the heavens and earth." But of no avail will be signs or warners to a people who do not believe »
Surah يونس : 101
﴿ثُمَّ نُنَجِّى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوا۟ وَّنَذَرُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّۭا﴾
« Then We will save those who feared Allah and leave the wrongdoers within it, on their knees. »
Surah مريم : 72
This term appears in 21 verses of the Quran.