I vowed that if I was cured from my illness, I would give a sum of money in charity and use it to sponsor orphans. Allah Almighty cured me, praise be to Him. Afterwards, the war against Gaza broke out. Is it permissible for me to offer it to support Gaza instead of sponsoring orphans?

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.

If one vowed an act of worship or an act that brings one closer to Allaah Almighty, then he should fulfill his vow. Allaah Almighty says (what means): {Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows...} [Quran 22: 29] and (what means): {And fulfill the covenant of Allaah when you have taken it.} [Quran 16: 91] The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “If one vows to obey Allaah, the Exalted, then he should obey Him.” [Al-Bukhari] If the vow taker specified a certain beneficiary in his vow, then he must give it to this very channel. It is impermissible to put it anywhere else because of the generality of the verse in which Allaah Almighty says (what means): {Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows.} [Quran 22: 29] You should fulfill your vow and give this money to the orphans. You may give it to the orphans of Gaza as they are needier than others. There are entities that receive these sums and deliver them to where the vow taker demands. You should seek the most trustworthy of them.

Allaah Knows best.