Whenever a person vows to perform an act of worship, he is obliged to fulfil it. The questioner says that she vowed to slaughter a sheep in a certain year and distribute its meat to the poor. This is a vow of obedience, for slaughtering the sheep is a means of drawing closer to Allah, and giving its meat in charity is likewise an act of devotion. Because she fixed a specific time for it, she was required to perform it at that time. Since she postponed it, she must now carry it out as a make-up: she has to slaughter the sheep she vowed, seeking nearness to Allah, and distribute its meat in charity. In addition, she must offer the expiation for delaying it, which is the expiation for an oath.
Accordingly, two things are incumbent upon her:
- To fulfil the vow she made, as a make-up.
- To pay the expiation for an oath because she deferred it beyond its appointed time.
The expiation for an oath, as Allah the Exalted says, is: “Its expiation is to feed ten poor people with food of the average quality you feed your own families, or clothe them, or free a slave; but whoever cannot afford that must fast three days. That is the expiation for your oaths when you swear” (al-Maidah 5:89).
As for her giving money to her sister so that she could give it in charity, this does not satisfy the vow, because the vow pertained to a specific sacrifice, not to unrestricted charity. Therefore, it does not discharge the vow. The charity she gave is, in shāʾ Allāh, rewarded and beneficial, and we hope its reward reaches the deceased, but it does not fulfil the conditions of the vow. Allah knows best.