I swore by Allah Almighty that if my work shift happens to be in a certain region, I will take my mother to Hajj this year. Praise be to Allah Almighty, my shift happened to be in the region that I wanted. Am I obliged to take her to Hajj? I told her: “O my mother, if you want to perform Hajj, I am ready to pay for your expenses.” However, she is somehow hesitant and says: “I want to perform Hajj so that Allah Almighty does not punish you for your vow.” I said to her: “It is your choice. If you perform Hajj, I will pay for your expenses, and if you do not, then Allah Almighty will pardon me”. Is this correct? Must she perform Hajj so that I be freed from my liability of the vow?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

A vow is a commitment to perform an act of worship that is meant to bring one closer to Allaah Almighty and is not obligatory in the Sharee'ah. It is not considered binding unless one utters a statement that indicates this. If the questioner did not utter the statement of the vow or whatever indicates commitment, like saying: 'It is due to Allaah Almighty upon me to do such-and-such', for example, but he just said: 'By Allaah Almighty, I will do such-and-such', as appears from the question, then what he said is an oath, not a vow. The oath maker should either fulfill the oath or offer an expiation in case of breaking the oath.

Nevertheless, if he pronounced a statement that signifies a vow or that indicates commitment, then it should be fulfilled, as long as it is a vow of obedience. This is based on the Hadeeth that was narrated on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah in which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “If one vows to obey Allaah Almighty, then he should obey Him, and if one vows to disobey Allaah Almighty, then he should not disobey Him.” [Al-Bukhari]

Al-Hafith Ibn Hajar said: "All recommended acts of worship, whether they are physical or financial, become obligatory if they are vowed. They are restricted by the restrictions set by the vow maker. The texts are clear concerning enjoining the fulfillment of vows if they are vows of obedience and prohibiting their fulfillment if they are vows of disobedience."

Therefore, if your wish was realized, you should fulfill your vow. You are not absolved from fulfilling it unless you are unable (to do so), meaning if it is not possible for your mother to perform the Hajj. In that case, you should offer an expiation for breaking an oath, as it was narrated by Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “If anyone makes a vow but does not name it, then its expiation is the same as that of breaking an oath, and if anyone makes a vow that he is unable to fulfill, then its expiation is the same as that of breaking an oath.” 

Allaah Knows best.