What is the ruling on a person saying, "I divorce you if I do such and such," when he has only contracted the marriage and has not entered upon her?
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The questioner : We are four young men.
The Shaykh : Four young men, brothers, not strangers.
The questioner : Brothers.
The Shaykh : Brothers.
The questioner : So, our younger brother was in a difficult situation regarding his house. He had just written his marriage contract, and it was not in order. We did not see him except that he was angry, saying, "I divorce you if I enter this house." We did not know what to do, so they said, "Shaykh Nasser will give you the evidence regarding that."
The Shaykh : I mean, do I understand that you are living in a house, meaning in a room, or are you living in a building?
The questioner : We are living in a house, meaning apartments that are divided up, and we are sitting there to relax.
The Shaykh : Be patient, my brother. I am asking you: are you living in one room or in a building?
The questioner : A building.
The Shaykh : You said in a room.
The questioner : We are young men sitting in the guest room.
The Shaykh : Ah, so you were gathered together.
The questioner : Yes, we were gathered together.
The Shaykh : Before the gathering, are you all married?The questioner : Yes, we are all married.
The Shaykh : The four of you.
The questioner : The four of you.
The Shaykh : And you live in one building, so you were gathered in a place or in a room, and you put him in a difficult situation.The questioner : We put him in a difficult situation. He was fixing up the building so he could get married in it, installing bathrooms, as we say, because the place was small and nothing was in it.
The Shaykh : The point is, he got upset with you. What did he do?
The questioner : He got very upset and said, "I divorce you if I live in it."
The Shaykh : Is he married or not yet?
The questioner : He has just written the contract, meaning he has written the contract but is not married yet.
The Shaykh : Meaning he has contracted the marriage but has not entered upon her.
The questioner : Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : Okay, what was the exact phrase he used?
The questioner : He said, word for word, "I divorce you three times if I live in it or enter it."
The Shaykh : And then he entered it?
The questioner : He has not entered it yet.
The Shaykh : He wants to enter it; he will enter it.
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Because it is his brothers' house.
The questioner : It is the family house; he must enter it.
The Shaykh : I understand now. The answer, if Allah wills, is easy. His wife is his wife and is not divorced by this speech alone. Rather, he owes an expiation for an oath. The expiation for an oath is feeding ten poor people, not giving them dirhams or dinars, but feeding them. That is, you see what you feed in your house and bring it to the poor people, either all at once for ten, or five, or two by two, or one by one, as is easy for you. The important thing is that you feed these ten people in one instance.
The questioner : One instance out of the ten?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is his expiation for the oath, and there is no divorce.
The questioner : He swore three times.
The Shaykh : I know, even if he had sworn thirty times.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.
The Shaykh : Four young men, brothers, not strangers.
The questioner : Brothers.
The Shaykh : Brothers.
The questioner : So, our younger brother was in a difficult situation regarding his house. He had just written his marriage contract, and it was not in order. We did not see him except that he was angry, saying, "I divorce you if I enter this house." We did not know what to do, so they said, "Shaykh Nasser will give you the evidence regarding that."
The Shaykh : I mean, do I understand that you are living in a house, meaning in a room, or are you living in a building?
The questioner : We are living in a house, meaning apartments that are divided up, and we are sitting there to relax.
The Shaykh : Be patient, my brother. I am asking you: are you living in one room or in a building?
The questioner : A building.
The Shaykh : You said in a room.
The questioner : We are young men sitting in the guest room.
The Shaykh : Ah, so you were gathered together.
The questioner : Yes, we were gathered together.
The Shaykh : Before the gathering, are you all married?The questioner : Yes, we are all married.
The Shaykh : The four of you.
The questioner : The four of you.
The Shaykh : And you live in one building, so you were gathered in a place or in a room, and you put him in a difficult situation.The questioner : We put him in a difficult situation. He was fixing up the building so he could get married in it, installing bathrooms, as we say, because the place was small and nothing was in it.
The Shaykh : The point is, he got upset with you. What did he do?
The questioner : He got very upset and said, "I divorce you if I live in it."
The Shaykh : Is he married or not yet?
The questioner : He has just written the contract, meaning he has written the contract but is not married yet.
The Shaykh : Meaning he has contracted the marriage but has not entered upon her.
The questioner : Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : Okay, what was the exact phrase he used?
The questioner : He said, word for word, "I divorce you three times if I live in it or enter it."
The Shaykh : And then he entered it?
The questioner : He has not entered it yet.
The Shaykh : He wants to enter it; he will enter it.
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Because it is his brothers' house.
The questioner : It is the family house; he must enter it.
The Shaykh : I understand now. The answer, if Allah wills, is easy. His wife is his wife and is not divorced by this speech alone. Rather, he owes an expiation for an oath. The expiation for an oath is feeding ten poor people, not giving them dirhams or dinars, but feeding them. That is, you see what you feed in your house and bring it to the poor people, either all at once for ten, or five, or two by two, or one by one, as is easy for you. The important thing is that you feed these ten people in one instance.
The questioner : One instance out of the ten?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is his expiation for the oath, and there is no divorce.
The questioner : He swore three times.
The Shaykh : I know, even if he had sworn thirty times.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.