The ruling on swearing an oath of divorce without intention

Question:
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, he says: If I swear by other than Allah without intention, such that it just slipped out of my tongue, and I said, “By divorce” or “by three divorces” or the like, am I sinful for that? And which is greater, that or zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and drinking khamr (intoxicants)?

Answer:
This refers to swearing an oath of divorce. If one swears by divorce, does the divorce take effect, or is there only an expiation for the oath? The majority of scholars hold that if one swears by divorce, it takes effect. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and a group of meticulous scholars say, “No, this is like an oath, and it is resolved by expiation.” Allah the Exalted said: This is a general statement regarding swearing by Allah and swearing by divorce; it is resolved by expiation, and no divorce takes effect because he did not intend divorce, but rather intended an oath. However, given the disagreement, the most cautious position is that the divorce takes effect. If it is a revocable divorce, he takes his wife back; if it is not revocable, she is divorced from him. This is the safest course for one’s conscience. As for his statement that he did not intend divorce: intention is not a condition for it. If one utters the words of divorce, intention is not required. It is explicit that intention is not required; if one utters it, it takes effect. Even if he says, “I did not intend it,” we do not look at his intention; we look at his words. This applies only to implicit expressions. If he uses implicit expressions that could mean divorce or something else, and he says, “I did not intend it,” and the wording is an implicit expression that allows for multiple meanings, then he is bound by it in this case. But if it is an explicit statement of divorce and he utters it, we do not look at his intention. Yes.