I promised my friends that if I passed, I would give a gift to all of them, but afterwards I was unable to fulfill my vow, so what should I do now?
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The questioner:
She says that during the exam days she promised her friends that if she passed, she would give a gift to all of them, but afterwards she was unable to fulfill her vow, so what should she do now? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Did she make a vow, or did she just make a promise?
The questioner:
At the beginning of the question she says "promise," and at the end of the question she says "vow."
The Shaykh:
If it was a promise, the matter is easy in this case. If she is able to fulfill it, she should do so; otherwise, there is no blame on her if she cannot. However, if she made a vow, this is a permissible vow, a vow to do something permissible. For a vow to do something permissible, she has the choice between fulfilling it and paying the expiation for an oath, which is freeing a slave, or feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, with the choice being among these. If she does not find any of that, then she must fast for three days. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He reward you. It seems to me that I understood from Shaykh Salih that there is a difference between a promise and a vow?
The Shaykh:
Yes, there is a difference between a promise and a vow. A vow is more binding than a promise.
The questioner:
Allah is the One to be sought for help, if she said, "I vowed to do such and such."
The Shaykh:
If this is among the permissible matters, then as we mentioned, she has the choice between fulfilling it and carrying it out, and paying the expiation for an oath. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
She says that during the exam days she promised her friends that if she passed, she would give a gift to all of them, but afterwards she was unable to fulfill her vow, so what should she do now? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Did she make a vow, or did she just make a promise?
The questioner:
At the beginning of the question she says "promise," and at the end of the question she says "vow."
The Shaykh:
If it was a promise, the matter is easy in this case. If she is able to fulfill it, she should do so; otherwise, there is no blame on her if she cannot. However, if she made a vow, this is a permissible vow, a vow to do something permissible. For a vow to do something permissible, she has the choice between fulfilling it and paying the expiation for an oath, which is freeing a slave, or feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, with the choice being among these. If she does not find any of that, then she must fast for three days. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He reward you. It seems to me that I understood from Shaykh Salih that there is a difference between a promise and a vow?
The Shaykh:
Yes, there is a difference between a promise and a vow. A vow is more binding than a promise.
The questioner:
Allah is the One to be sought for help, if she said, "I vowed to do such and such."
The Shaykh:
If this is among the permissible matters, then as we mentioned, she has the choice between fulfilling it and carrying it out, and paying the expiation for an oath. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، وعدت صديقاتي بأني إذا نجحت أهدي لهم هدية كلهم، وبعد ذلك لم أستطع الوفاء بنذري، فماذا أفعل الآن؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.