What is the ruling if a woman says: “If Allah grants me wealth, I will give charity from it”?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
She says: What if I said, “If my Lord grants me success, for example, and I win the prize, I will give charity from it,” but the gain did not occur? Do I have a sin upon me, knowing that I will give charity from this money, and without it I have no money to give charity from? What is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh:
If you say, “If Allah grants me wealth, I will give charity from it,” is that not considered a vow? If Allah grants you the wealth, it is obligatory for you to give charity from it, fulfilling the vow. If you do not give charity from it, you have left the obligatory act, which is fulfilling the vow, because charity is obedience. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6696 Yes.
The questioner:
If the gain or prize did not occur for her.
The Shaykh:
If the gain did not occur, the condition did not occur. If the condition did not occur, the consequent did not occur. This is a vow contingent on a condition. If the condition occurs and Allah grants her wealth, it is obligatory for her to fulfill it. If nothing occurs for her, she owes nothing, because the condition did not occur.
The questioner:
Does it become a vow, O Shaykh, even if she says, “If Allah grants me the prize, I will give charity,” or in any such formulation?
The Shaykh:
This is a commitment. Yes, this is a commitment.
The questioner:
O one who makes the vow, regarding the...?
The Shaykh:
Yes, this is a commitment that she will give charity if Allah grants her wealth, or if she obtains the permissible prize. This is a commitment.[At-Tawbah 9:75-76] Yes.
She says: What if I said, “If my Lord grants me success, for example, and I win the prize, I will give charity from it,” but the gain did not occur? Do I have a sin upon me, knowing that I will give charity from this money, and without it I have no money to give charity from? What is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh:
If you say, “If Allah grants me wealth, I will give charity from it,” is that not considered a vow? If Allah grants you the wealth, it is obligatory for you to give charity from it, fulfilling the vow. If you do not give charity from it, you have left the obligatory act, which is fulfilling the vow, because charity is obedience. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him
من نذر أن يطيع الله فليطعه.The questioner:
If the gain or prize did not occur for her.
The Shaykh:
If the gain did not occur, the condition did not occur. If the condition did not occur, the consequent did not occur. This is a vow contingent on a condition. If the condition occurs and Allah grants her wealth, it is obligatory for her to fulfill it. If nothing occurs for her, she owes nothing, because the condition did not occur.
The questioner:
Does it become a vow, O Shaykh, even if she says, “If Allah grants me the prize, I will give charity,” or in any such formulation?
The Shaykh:
This is a commitment. Yes, this is a commitment.
The questioner:
O one who makes the vow, regarding the...?
The Shaykh:
Yes, this is a commitment that she will give charity if Allah grants her wealth, or if she obtains the permissible prize. This is a commitment.
(75) And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous." (76) But when he gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused.
وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِن فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ فَلَمَّا آتَاهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوا وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5773- ما حكم إذا قالت المرأة: لو رزقني الله مالا لتصدقت منه؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.