Ruling on vowing to slaughter a bullock, but slaughtered a camel instead
11-8-2015 | IslamWeb
Question:
I made a vow that I would slaughter a bullock if a certain thing happened. When that thing actually happened, my father, who took care of the fulfillment of the vow, slaughtered a young camel instead. Has my vow been fulfilled or am I still obliged to fulfill it?
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 
is His slave and Messenger.
If you had not specified to slaughter a specific bullock in your vow, you can slaughter a camel whose value is equal or more than that of the bullock. Imaam An-Nawawi 
said:
"If a person vows to slaughter a ewe and instead slaughters a camel, then this is permissible, and there is no difference in scholarly opinions in this. In this case, will the whole camel be offered in fulfillment of the vow? There are two famous opinions in this regard, the more correct of which is that offering only one seventh is considered obligatory (as a fulfillment of the vow) and the rest is voluntarily offered. The second opinion suggests that offering all of the camel is obligatory. Based on the second opinion, it is impermissible for you to eat from it according to the opinion that it is impermissible for the person to eat from the animal that is offered as obligatory Hady or Udh-hiyyah. However, if we adopted the first opinion, believing that offering only one seventh of the vowed animal is obligatory, then it is permissible for you to eat from the rest of it. Shaykh Abu Hamid said, "It is permissible for him in this case to eat the rest of the vowed animal sacrifice." [Al-Majmoo‘]
If the vow-maker only vowed to slaughter an animal sacrifice and did not specify its age or description, should his vow be interpreted as slaughtering an animal that meets the lowest possible conditions of what is acceptable of that kind (of animals), or should it be interpreted as slaughtering an animal that meets the lowest possible conditions of what is acceptable as a sacrifice so as to bring one closer to Allaah, the Exalted? The Maaliki and Shaafi‘i scholars believed that he should slaughter an animal that meets the lowest possible conditions of what is acceptable as a sacrifice of that kind of animal. In this case, the animal should be of the age that is determined by the Sharee'ah for the kind to which it belongs. It should also be free from physical defects.
An-Nawawi said:
"If the person says, "I make a vow to Allaah, the Exalted, that I will slaughter a camel, a cow, or a ewe," should he then observe the conditions that render the animal eligible for sacrifice, in terms of quality (i.e. being free from physical defects) and age (i.e. it should have reached the age stipulated by the Sharee'ah)? There are two opinions in this regard, as mentioned by the author along with the relevant evidence. These opinions are based on the previously highlighted rule that discusses whether a vow is interpreted as slaughtering an animal that meets the lowest possible conditions of what is acceptable as an animal sacrifice of that kind (the person vowed to offer) or the lowest possible conditions of what is acceptable as a sacrifice that brings one closer to Allaah, the Exalted. The most correct of these two opinions is that the conditions related to the quality and age of the animal sacrifice, indicating the validity of sacrifice, should be observed in this case. If the speaker vows to slaughter a camel or a cow, then the same difference of opinion applies. Imaam Al-Haramayn, Al-Juwayni said, "It is agreed upon among the scholars that slaughtering a young (weaned) camel is not sufficient in this case, because it is not considered a camel yet. The same applies to slaughtering a calf if the vow-maker specified slaughtering a cow in his vow. The same applies to slaughtering a lamb if the vow-maker specified slaughtering a ewe in his vow."
This is the case if the vow-maker did not specify a certain animal in his vow. However, if he vows to slaughter a ewe, a bullock, or a camel, whether young or old, then it is incumbent on him to slaughter exactly what he vowed to offer.
An-Nawawi said:
"If the speaker makes a vow to offer a particular ewe as Hady (offering), then he is obliged to slaughter it, and if he slaughtered a camel instead, then it would not be for a valid fulfillment of his vow. This is because he specified a certain ewe in his vow, and it is incumbent on him to fulfill his vow and slaughter that very ewe. The same applies if a person vows to free a particular slave."
We would like to point out that you should have the intention of fulfilling the vow at the time when it is being fulfilled in order to have your liability cleared. There is no problem if the vow maker authorizes someone to slaughter the vowed animal on his behalf, such as his father or son or anyone else.
Allaah Knows best.