Nadhr

Nadhr is a vow: binding yourself to an act of devotion that was not obligatory before you made the vow.

What it means for me: A nadhr creates a duty that did not exist before you spoke it. This is why a mufti asks for your exact words, and whether you made the vow conditional on something happening. Your wording decides what you owe, not what you meant in general terms.

Example: A woman said, while ill, that she would give charity if she recovered. Once she recovered, her question became what she now owed. This is the case scholars call a conditional nadhr.

Do not confuse with: Yamin, an oath. Nadhr binds you to an act of devotion; yamin is a statement made firmer by God's name, with no devotion attached.

If scholars differ: Some scholars hold that a vow made in anger, to forbid or compel something, must still be fulfilled as spoken. Others hold that an oath's expiation, kaffarah, is enough instead. The difference is named here as a difference and not decided; the mufti is the reference.