Question:
When my son was unwell, I made a vow to Allahﷻ that if he recovered, I would fast for a whole year. But now, I could not do it. It has been 15 years. What is the expiation?
Answer:
Prophetﷺ said: “The expiation for a broken vow is the expiation for a broken oath.” (Kaffarat un-Nadhr is the expiation for an oath). So, if you make an oath to Allahﷻ to do something and you cannot do it, you must perform expiation. That expiation is the same as for breaking an oath. What is the expiation for an oath? It is mentioned in Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 89: If you make an oath and then break it, the expiation is to feed ten poor people. You do not need to fast for a year; you can leave it. Instead, what should you do? Feed ten poor people. What constitutes feeding?
The average meal you eat. In our country, it’s three meals a day, in some Arab countries, it’s two. Consider the average meal you would feed your family. It should be a moderate meal. You need to give ten such meals to ten poor people.
Calculate what a moderate meal is for your family. After feeding ten poor people, you say, “I could not fulfill my vow, I seek forgiveness. As expiation, I have fed ten people.” That is a duty. Alternatively, you can clothe ten poor people. “Clothing” means a pair: one upper garment and one lower garment, like a shirt and a waistcloth, or a shirt and pants. If it’s a woman, an upper garment and a lower garment.
Give that. You can feed ten people or clothe them as expiation for the oath. Or freeing a slave. In this era, there are no slaves. Since freeing a slave is not possible, and Allahﷻ knows it’s not available, then you must fast for three days.
Not for a year, but because you couldn’t fast for a year, you fast for three days as expiation. You intended to fast for a year as a vow but couldn’t. Now, you should fast for three days.
Follow this, as Allahﷻ says in Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:89. According to this, if you break your oath, do this expiation. For a broken vow, the expiation is the same. That is the expiation.