He Vowed to Sacrifice an Animal if He Passed an Exam and He Passed at the Second Session

Question :

I vowed one day before an examination to sacrifice an animal if I graduated from the sixth grade to the first grade of intermediate school. I passed during the second session, not the first session. Should I sacrifice an animal or not, as four years have passed since then and I have not fulfilled my vow bearing in mind that I have made a similar vow that if I graduated from the third grade of intermediate school to the first grade of secondary school?

Answer:

If you uttered your vow and you did not intend success in the first session, then you must fulfill your vow and sacrifice an animal for Allah's sake and distribute it among the poor. Neither you nor your family should eat anything of it, according to the words of the Prophet ﷺ:
"Whoever vowed to obey Allah, he should obey Him and whoever vowed to disobey Allah, he should not disobey Him."

Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, from the Hadith of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.

However, if by the vow you intended success in the first session and you did not pass until the second session, then there is no obligation upon you, according to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
"Deeds are purely according to intentions and every person shall have what he intended.

(Agreed upon from the Hadith of 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them.) Likewise, you must fulfill your vow if you graduated from.

intermediate school to secondary school, according to the aforementioned Hadith of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.

If you intended by the first or the second vow that you would slaughter the animal for your family and your relatives and neighbors, then you should do as you intended, according to the above-mentioned Hadith of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. It is desirable that you do not make any more vows, because a vow does not prevent anything of Allah's Decree from being implemented, and it is not the cause of success. And the Prophet prohibited making vows, saying:
"No good comes of it, it is only a means by which something is removed from the miserly."

It has also been confirmed in the Two Sahihs from the Hadith of Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them. We ask Allah for us and you that He guide us and grant us success.