The Ruling on One Who Made a Vow and Did not Fulfill it
Question :
If a person swore, saying: "I make an oath to Allah that I will do such-and-such," or he says: "I make a vow to Allah that I will do such-and-such," then he breaks it and does not fulfill this oath, what is the ruling on that?
Answer:
Before replying, I would like to draw my brothers' attention to the fact that the vows which they insist on making are hated, because the Prophet prohibited it, saying:
"No good comes of it, it is only a means by which something is removed from the miserly."An-Nur 24:53." class="fa fa-archive text-info" aria-hidden="true">
Also, we are always hearing from people who made vows dependent upon a certain condition, such as by saying: "If Allah cured some sick person, then I must fast for Him such-and- such," or "give such-and-such in charity." and other such sayings. And in this, as I have indicated above, there is the danger that a person will leave himself open to this great punishment.
When a person is put to trial and he vows to do something, if the vow is to perform some act of obedience, he is obliged to fulfill it. It is not permissible for him to forsake it, according to the words of the Prophet ﷺ:
"Whoever vowed to obey Allah, he should obey Him."
There is no difference between a vow to perform an obligatory act of obedience, such as when a person says for example: "I vow to Allah that I will pay my Zakah," and a vow to perform a preferred act of obedience, such as when he says: "I vow to Allah to pray two Rak'ahs." And there is no difference between the vow being general and unconditional and it being dependant upon to a certain condition.
In any case, every vow to perform an act of obedience must be fulfilled and it is not permissible for a person to forsake it and to atone for it, and if he did so, he would be a sinner. But if the vow was to commit an act of disobedience, then it is not permissible to fulfill it, according to the words of the Prophet ﷺ :
"Whoever vowed to disobey Allah should not disobey Him."
But he is obliged to atone for an unfulfilled oath, according to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
"The atonement for a vow, if he did not mention Allah's Name, is the same as the atonement for an oath."
This is general, so for every vow you do not fulfill, you must make the atonement for an oath. Based upon this, the rule is that it is an obligation upon the questioner to make the atonement for an oath.
Source:
Ibn 'Uthaimin
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 415-416-417
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