An elderly woman vowed upon herself the heavy expiation of fasting two consecutive months or freeing a slave

The questioner : Regarding the topic of vows, this questioner says: An elderly woman vowed upon herself the heavy expiation of fasting two consecutive months or freeing a slave. Now she is poor and suffering from diabetes. She started fasting but was unable to complete it. What is required of her?

The Shaykh : It appears that it is obligatory for her to feed sixty poor people, because the heavy expiation is freeing a slave; if one does not find one, then fasting two consecutive months; if one is unable to do that, then feeding sixty poor people. So she must feed sixty poor people. And I say to you: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows and said: It does not avert divine decree, and it does not bring good. Listen to the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . So there is no legal or divine benefit in it. Some people, when they fall ill and make a vow, think that if they make a vow, Allah will cure them. This is a mistake. If Allah intends to cure you, He will cure you without a vow. And if Allah does not intend that, the vow will not benefit. Likewise, it is used to extract money from the miser, because the miser is stingy with his wealth. So in order to compel himself, he says: I have a vow upon me to give charity, so that he can compel himself. This is a mistake. Allah the Exalted said: The answer: Obey Allah without an oath. Likewise, we say: Obey Allah without a vow. So a vow is disliked, and indeed some scholars have forbidden it. For this reason, you find those who make vows regret it greatly. They come to so-and-so and ask, "What do you say about the vow? Lighten it for me." They come to another and ask, "What do you say about the vow? Lighten it for me." And some of them, may Allah protect us from that, are given by Allah the Exalted what they vowed, but they do not fulfill it. This is a great danger. Its danger is: Perhaps Allah will place this hypocrisy in his heart until he dies. May Allah protect us and you from that. Yes.