Question: Does that mean the vow remains a debt upon him until he is able to fulfil it?
Answer: Yes. He should leave the land as it is and wait until Allah makes the building easy and he can carry out the vow. If he later despairs of that and of being able to build and complete what he vowed, only then should he ask the scholars. For now, what I advise is that he wait and not sell the land; perhaps Allah will facilitate its construction.
Question: In that case, is there no zakah on the property so long as he intends to build on it?
Answer: That is correct. He keeps it while waiting to carry out what he has vowed for it, and during this period no zakah is due on it.
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Fulfilling a disliked vow
Question: My grandmother vowed, purely for Allah’s sake, that she would fast the month of Rajab every year if her wishes were granted. When they were indeed granted, she began fasting as she had vowed, and continued until she reached an age at which fasting is hard for her because of illness and old age. What is the ruling in this case? Must she continue, or may she make expiation and be released from the vow?
Answer: Setting apart the month of Rajab for fasting is disliked. Therefore this woman has made a disliked vow. When a person vows to do something that is disliked, the better course is not to do it and instead to pay the expiation for breaking an oath. She must therefore offer the expiation for an oath: she may free a slave, or feed ten needy people, or clothe ten needy people—each needy person receiving half a sāʿ of food, or a garment that covers him for prayer. If she is unable to