It is disallowed to dispose of the vowed object in a way that is different than that intended by the vow except for the best of the beneficiary of the vow

11-8-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

I made a vow to give all my jewelry in charity for the sake of Allah, the Exalted. I live in Canada, and I could not sell the jewelry in the market in order to donate its price to the poor or give it to a mosque. I offered it for sale to my female friends, but they wanted to buy it for a very low price. I felt shy to decline their offer and sold some pieces of my jewelry to them.
Answer:

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 ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The vow that you made is known among the Islamic jurists as nathr at-tabarrur, i.e. a vow of piety. This type of vow is obligatory to fulfill. Hence, you should offer all your gold jewelry in fulfillment of your vow. You are not allowed to dispose of the jewelry in a way that is different from that intended by the vow except for the best of the beneficiary of the vow.

As for the jewelry that you have sold for less than its due price or offered as a gift, you should offer its full monetary value in charity to the beneficiary of the vow (specified in your vow). It would have been better if you gave the jewelry itself to the poor or delivered it to any reliable charity to distribute it among the poor or sell it and offer its price to them.

Allaah Knows best.

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