He had a dispute with his wife, and she said to him, "Let us be like brothers." He is unsure whether he answered her, and whether this constitutes zihar.
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Fatwa No. (22661)
Q: One day, my wife and I had a quarrel, and the anger and dispute between us lasted a long time. My wife said, "Then let us live like brothers." I do not know what I said to her or what I did at that time. After a period of time, doubt arose in my mind as to whether I had said to her, "Okay, consider me like your brother" or "I consider you like my sister," or whether I had said nothing. Then, whispers entered my mind as to whether I had said the aforementioned phrases or not; perhaps the whispers in my mind led me to say these phrases to her. Sometimes I say, "No,
I did not say it," so I became in a state of doubt and obsessive compulsion. Then I asked my wife if I had said to her, "Consider me like your brother," or if I had said, "I consider you like my sister." She said, "No," I did not hear you say this. Rather, I was the one who said, "Let us live in this house like brothers." Then you remained silent and left the house. Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you: 1- Does this count as zihar? And what must I do? Is there an expiation for zihar upon the wife? 2- How do I fast two consecutive months, given that my work is 24 hours on and 24 hours off? During work, we sometimes face fires and heavy tasks such as washing and the like after the end of an incident, especially in this hot summer when fires are frequent.
A: There is nothing upon the questioner; because the original state is the innocence of the conscience, and he is in doubt as to whether what can be considered zihar toward his wife came from him or not. And among the established principles among jurists is that certainty is not removed by doubt. The permissibility of the questioner's wife is a certain matter, and its prohibition for him is a doubtful matter, so the ruling remains on the original state.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.