One Who Made a Vow and Was Unable to Fulfill It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
A person made a vow with a specific verse, then did not fulfill this vow. Is the expiation obligatory?
The Shaykh:
It remains a debt in his liability. The debt remains a debt until it is paid.
The questioner:
If he is unable to do so.
The Shaykh:
It remains in his liability, like the debts for which one dies, and his case is left to Allah; his account is with Allah.
The questioner:
If he substitutes it with another matter in the placement of the third,
The Shaykh:
Not regarding what he previously vowed. If he vowed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) a third of his wealth for the renovation of the mosque, as he said, or vowed a third of his wealth for such-and-such poor people, as he said, and so on.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
A person made a vow with a specific verse, then did not fulfill this vow. Is the expiation obligatory?
The Shaykh:
It remains a debt in his liability. The debt remains a debt until it is paid.
The questioner:
If he is unable to do so.
The Shaykh:
It remains in his liability, like the debts for which one dies, and his case is left to Allah; his account is with Allah.
The questioner:
If he substitutes it with another matter in the placement of the third,
The Shaykh:
Not regarding what he previously vowed. If he vowed to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) a third of his wealth for the renovation of the mosque, as he said, or vowed a third of his wealth for such-and-such poor people, as he said, and so on.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
التعليق على كتاب زاد المعاد، بداية من فصل : فى أمر رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - الثلاثة باعتزال نساءهم — islamhouse.com (42:10)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.