Moving from fulfilling a vow to expiation

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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: I made a vow and I am able to fulfill it, but I do not want to. Is it permissible for me to go directly to the expiation?

Answer:
If a vow is like an oath, intended to prevent something or to encourage something, it is like an oath, and its expiation is the expiation of an oath. But if the intention behind the vow is to draw near to Allah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him

مَنْ نَذَرَ أَنْ يُطِيعَ اللَّهَ فَلْيُطِعْهُ

Sahih al-Bukhari 6696

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This is for obligation; this matter is obligatory. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said regarding the righteous that they fulfill their vows; they fulfill their vows. He, Mighty and Majestic, said:

And whatever you spend of expenditures or make of vows - indeed, Allah knows of it

وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن نَّفَقَةٍ أَوْ نَذَرْتُم مِّن نَّذْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُهُ

[Al-Baqarah 2:270]

He, Mighty and Majestic, said:

Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows

ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ

[Al-Hajj 22:29]

If a vow is a vow of obedience, it is obligatory to fulfill it, and it is a type of worship. Yes.

Source فتح المجيد شرح كتاب التوحيد 09-01-1435هـ — alfawzan.live (1:07:56)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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