A man swore to his wife with divorce if she went to her sister or spoke to her, then he died before the condition was met; does his wife inherit from him?

The questioner : A man swore to his wife, divorcing her with a conditional divorce, stating that if she went to her sister she would be divorced, or if she spoke to her, and that she should not receive her sister in her house. Then this man died before any of the conditional divorce took place. Is there a legal ruling that permits the woman to take from the inheritance after this event occurred? In other words, does this divorce take effect, such that she has no share of the inheritance?

The Shaykh : Your question is incomplete!

The questioner : What is it? You are putting it in front of my face; I know how to ask!

The Shaykh : You are frightening, meaning it is as if you...

The questioner : ... my dear.

The Shaykh : I think you mean one of two scenarios: one of them is in terms of

The questioner : the divorce taking place.

The Shaykh : You must listen now, that is all.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : One of them is in terms of which is more likely than the other. I will mention the two scenarios to you, and I will tell you that you mean this scenario, not that one, and each has its answer. A man divorced his wife with one of the conditions you mentioned, then he died. Does his wife, who was divorced by this conditional divorce, inherit from him? The answer is two scenarios: if she went out before his death, she does not inherit from him; and if she did not go out until after his death, she inherits from him. You mean the first scenario. In any case, I have given you the answer for both scenarios. However, here it is necessary to clarify the condition he set, because after reflecting on it, she may inherit from him even in the other scenario. A man divorces his wife with a certain condition. Either his intention is to actually divorce her if the condition is met, in which case the answer is as you heard, two answers. Or he does not intend to divorce her at all, but intends to frighten her and discipline her. In this case, she is not divorced, and thus she inherits from him. But this or that detail—whether he intended it or not—can be determined by knowing which of the two intentions he had, if he were alive. Because this divorcer would be asked, or the wife's family would ask, "Our daughter so-and-so, her husband divorced her," and so on, and the mufti would be forced to ask what he intended. But after his death, there is no way to clarify it. In that case, it is considered that this divorce takes place if the condition is met, and his intention is not considered here, because there is no way to know his intention here. Is that clear?

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : This detail benefits us regarding most divorces that occur coupled with a condition. For example, now a man is angry with his wife because she goes to her father's house, and he is at war with her father, for instance. He wants to prevent her from going to her father's house. How does he prevent her? He frightens her with this divorce. But deep down in his heart, he does not want to divorce her; he would make her haram to himself if she went to visit her father. But it is not so if he had a doubt about her purity. He saw her, for example, one day talking to the handsome, beautiful young neighbor, and so on. And perhaps the next day, the third day, or after a few days, she went out of this neighbor's house. He developed a doubt in his heart about the purity of his wife. He said to her, "If I see you entering my neighbor's house a second time, you are divorced." And then he sees her. In that case, it is assumed that he intended the divorce, so the divorce takes place.

The questioner : Similarly, we can say, our Shaykh, that she would be in the waiting period ('iddah).

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : It is as if I am completing something or supporting what you are saying, my Shaykh. In this case, after his death, would she observe the waiting period?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : She has the share, and Allah the Exalted knows best.

The Shaykh : And she is divorced?

The questioner : Yes, meaning she would also be...

The questioner : I am supporting the speech you have favored with. I say she would also be in the waiting period. So what prevents her from taking the inheritance? She would be in the waiting period, even if the condition that was the reason for the divorce took place. I mean, our Shaykh, when he swore this conditional divorce over her and then passed away, this woman went and met [the condition], and the condition took place. We say that even if the condition took place, she would be in the waiting period.

The Shaykh : After his death, you mean?

The questioner : After his death, yes.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you. Okay, Abu Sa'id waived his turn, and Ahmad did the same.

The questioner : But the answer, meaning...

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : His answer, meaning does the divorce take place?

The Shaykh : The divorce does not take place. Let someone else come.