In our country, a man is exempted from national service if his mother is divorced

Al-Huwayni: This example is common in Egypt. In our army, if a man is the only son of his father or mother, he is exempted from conscription. So now, a man goes with his wife and divorces her. Of course, the divorce is just talk; the intention is not to divorce, but to prove that he divorced her at the official marriage officer so that he can say the mother needs to care for the son. This gets him out of the army. There are two questions: Is this permissible? And if it is permissible, does the divorce take effect, even though the man does not intend to divorce, and even if it is recorded in the official documents?

The Shaykh : Of course, the divorce takes effect, and there is no doubt or ambiguity in that.
Al-Huwayni: Even though he does not intend it?

The Shaykh : Yes; because, as you know, divorce is of two types: explicit divorce and implicit divorce. In the case of implicit divorce, the intention is considered. If the divorcing man says, "I did not intend to divorce," we accept his statement and base the ruling on it. However, if he explicitly pronounces the divorce, his intention and purpose are not accepted.
Al-Huwayni: He did not explicitly pronounce it, but the marriage officer asked him, "Do you want to divorce?" He said, "Yes," but he did not intend to divorce at all.

The Shaykh : Did the marriage officer not record, based on what happened, that he divorced her?
Al-Huwayni: Yes, that he divorced her.

The Shaykh : That is it.
Al-Huwayni: And everything is documented.

The Shaykh : Rather, this is stronger than saying "I divorced you."
Al-Huwayni: This is stronger?

The Shaykh : Obviously. But I did not fully grasp the situation where the man divorces his wife in this manner, which we can call a fraudulent divorce. Why did I say that?

The questioner : Because the army in our country exempts a son from conscription in two cases: if he is the only son of his father and mother, or if the mother is divorced from the father. They say, "The son will care for his mother as a man." In this case, the document from the marriage officer is submitted stating that he divorced the woman, so his son is exempted from conscription. So, does the divorce take effect?

The Shaykh : Yes, without a doubt.

The questioner: UncleThe Shaykh ... .

The Shaykh : ... or is it still pending?