She vowed to slaughter an animal every year in the month of Rajab; is she required to do so?

The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. One of the listening sisters sent a question, and the questioner, whose name is Ha-Ha, says: I inform you that I have vowed to Allah to slaughter a ram every year in the month of Rajab, as long as I am alive. Now, ten years have passed, and I have been fulfilling this vow. I have heard that designating the month of Rajab for slaughter is a bid'ah (religious innovation). So, should I fulfill my vow, or should I stop the slaughter? Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good. Also, I vowed to buy my daughter, who was ten years old at the time, a gold crown, but she refused it. Now she is nineteen years old. Should I fulfill my vow now, or not? Furthermore, I vowed to put henna or henna and kadi on my head and go to my friend's wedding. When the time for her marriage came, my husband was not present, and I went with the driver and my brother, but I did not fulfill my vow because I heard that it involved disobedience to Allah. Is there an expiation for this? And is there a sin on me? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
As for the first vow, which is the vow in Rajab, this is a bid'ah (religious innovation), yes, because designating Rajab for slaughter is from the matters of the jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance) and is a bid'ah. It is not permissible to designate Rajab for any act of worship, whether slaughter, fasting, standing in night prayer, or otherwise, because it is like the other months and is not designated for anything specific. So, this is a vow that is not permissible, and the safest course is for you to expiate it with the expiation of an oath. As for the vow to put perfume on your head when going out on the occasion of a wedding, this is also a vow that is not permissible, because a woman is prohibited from using perfume when going out; so it is a vow of disobedience, and you should not carry it out. As for the vow to put a crown on your daughter, or to put something on your head, this is a vow of a permissible matter. If you wish, you may do it, and if you wish, you may expiate it with the expiation of an oath, yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good. From her letter, it is observed, Shaykh Salih, that she makes many vows. Do you have a word, may Allah preserve you?

The Shaykh:
Yes, a vow is not something one should do. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so one should not enter into making vows; because it puts a person in difficulty and causes him to bear what Allah did not place upon him in the original Shari'ah. He may be unable to fulfill it, or he may become sluggish. A person is in a state of well-being before making the vow, and he should perform the act of obedience without a vow, so that the door remains open for him to perform the act of obedience and draw near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) without a vow. But if he makes a vow, it becomes obligatory for him to fulfill it. So, the result is that entering into a vow while a person is in a state of well-being is something that is prohibited; because of the difficulty it causes for the self and the entry into hardship, and the person is in a state of well-being before the vow. Therefore, making a vow is disliked or forbidden, meaning initiating a vow. Yes.