The ruling on swearing divorce on doing something
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner says: I was once driving in my car, and my mind suggested divorce to me, so I said, "I divorce you if I do not close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes." The car passed before I did so. Did the divorce take effect? I note that this was a whisper from Satan in a brief moment without sincere intention.
The Shaykh:
If I said, “I swear by divorce upon myself.”
The questioner:
And I said, “I swear by divorce that I will close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes.” The garment, yes.
The Shaykh:
How?
The questioner:
His garment looks like this, or his garment or his wife’s garment. I said, “I swear by divorce that I will close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes,” but it passed before I did so. Did the divorce take effect? Knowing that this was a whisper from Shaytan in a brief moment without sincere intention? If the divorce took effect a year ago, does she return to me or not? And if the divorce took effect, do I take her back between myself and her and make her content, or not? And I said afterward, “O Allah, I testify to Allah and His angels that I have taken her back if the divorce has taken effect.” Please give us a ruling on this, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
If it is one who leaves the divorce if he does not close the opening, that suffices for the divorce, and the divorce is one pronouncement, and there is a taking back during the waiting period.
As for if your intention was to emphasize it upon yourself, to be strict with yourself that you will close the opening, and you did not intend to pronounce the divorce, but your intention was to be strict with yourself and bind yourself to closing the opening, and you did not have in mind pronouncing the divorce upon your family, but your intention was to be strict with yourself and emphasize it until you close the opening, then upon you is an expiation, and the divorce does not take effect. An expiation for an oath, feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave, or fasting ten days. This is what is required. This is foolishness in speech, divorcing over the opening of a garment, words that have no basis, it is only a degree of Shaytan. We ask Allah for safety.
The result is that there is a distinction here; this is judged by intentions. So if your intention from this was to emphasize it upon yourself that you will close the opening, and it was not in your heart or your intention to pronounce the divorce upon your family, then this is not a divorce; an expiation for an oath suffices. An expiation for an oath is feeding ten poor people or clothing them, or twenty, or giving each one half a sa' of dates or rice. This is the obligatory. Yes, may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad. May Allah reward you with good.
This questioner says: I was once driving in my car, and my mind suggested divorce to me, so I said, "I divorce you if I do not close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes." The car passed before I did so. Did the divorce take effect? I note that this was a whisper from Satan in a brief moment without sincere intention.
The Shaykh:
If I said, “I swear by divorce upon myself.”
The questioner:
And I said, “I swear by divorce that I will close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes.” The garment, yes.
The Shaykh:
How?
The questioner:
His garment looks like this, or his garment or his wife’s garment. I said, “I swear by divorce that I will close the opening in the garment before the oncoming car passes,” but it passed before I did so. Did the divorce take effect? Knowing that this was a whisper from Shaytan in a brief moment without sincere intention? If the divorce took effect a year ago, does she return to me or not? And if the divorce took effect, do I take her back between myself and her and make her content, or not? And I said afterward, “O Allah, I testify to Allah and His angels that I have taken her back if the divorce has taken effect.” Please give us a ruling on this, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
If it is one who leaves the divorce if he does not close the opening, that suffices for the divorce, and the divorce is one pronouncement, and there is a taking back during the waiting period.
As for if your intention was to emphasize it upon yourself, to be strict with yourself that you will close the opening, and you did not intend to pronounce the divorce, but your intention was to be strict with yourself and bind yourself to closing the opening, and you did not have in mind pronouncing the divorce upon your family, but your intention was to be strict with yourself and emphasize it until you close the opening, then upon you is an expiation, and the divorce does not take effect. An expiation for an oath, feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave, or fasting ten days. This is what is required. This is foolishness in speech, divorcing over the opening of a garment, words that have no basis, it is only a degree of Shaytan. We ask Allah for safety.
The result is that there is a distinction here; this is judged by intentions. So if your intention from this was to emphasize it upon yourself that you will close the opening, and it was not in your heart or your intention to pronounce the divorce upon your family, then this is not a divorce; an expiation for an oath suffices. An expiation for an oath is feeding ten poor people or clothing them, or twenty, or giving each one half a sa' of dates or rice. This is the obligatory. Yes, may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
فتاوى الحج 1410 هـ - 7 — archive.org (42:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.