The Ruling on Vowing in a State of Anger

Q: A question from: Umm 'Ayyad - Riyadh. She says: I vowed in a state of anger that I would beat my son until blood flowed, but I did not do it. What is required of me? May Allah reward you with good.

A: In the name of Allah, and praise is to Allah. You owe the expiation for an oath; because this beating is not an act of drawing near to Allah, but rather a matter of independent legal reasoning and consideration. So if you did not do it, you owe the expiation for an oath. And because beating him until blood flows is not permissible, this becomes, in the situation described, a vow of disobedience. A vow of disobedience is not permissible to fulfill, and its expiation is the expiation for an oath, which is: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a believing slave. Whoever is unable to do any of these three things must fast for three days. The feeding consists of half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the staple food of the people of the land, such as dates, wheat, rice, or others. Its amount is: one and a half kilograms, approximately. And success is from Allah.