What is incumbent upon a divorced woman who vowed to donate her gold if she was not pregnant, then her father returned the gold to her ex-husband, and after a shaykh issued a fatwa for her to pay an expiation for an oath, which she placed in a donation box, knowing that she was unaware of the necessity of giving it to ten needy persons?
Fulfilling a vow () is obligatory in the manner in which its owner vowed it, based on the Almighty's saying: {And let them fulfill their vows}, and the Prophet's (PBUH) saying: "Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him." Therefore, the one who made the vow must give in charity the gold he vowed. If it is no longer in his possession, he must give its equivalent in charity.
If he is unable to do so, the debt of the vow remains binding upon him until he is able to fulfill it. If his inability is not expected to cease, then he must offer an expiation (kaffarat ).
As for placing the expiation in a donation box, it is not permissible, because it may be spent on those who are not poor, and because the expiation must specifically be food or clothing for ten poor people, as stipulated in the Holy Quran.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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