A husband said to his wife, "If you go to such-and-such a place, you are divorced." Does she become divorced if she goes?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you. A questioner says: I am a man who told my wife, "Do not go to that house." She went, and I said, "By Allah, if you go, you are divorced." Does this divorce take effect?
The Shaykh : Yes. A man said to his wife, "If you go to this house, you are divorced," and she went. Does she become divorced or not?
Answer: According to the four schools of jurisprudence—the Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanafi, and Hanbali schools—the wife becomes divorced, even if he intended only to swear an oath. The wife becomes divorced because this is a divorce contingent on a condition; if the condition is met, the contingent act takes place.
The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) chose the position that if he intended divorce, she is divorced; but if he intended to emphasize the prohibition and threaten the woman, she is not divorced, though he owes an expiation for the oath. What the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) chose is the correct view, if Allah wills. However, we advise all our Muslim brothers to avoid this statement, because as you see now, the majority of the Ummah and all the Imams hold that the divorce takes place, and this man’s intercourse with his wife would be forbidden intercourse because she is divorced, unless he intends to take her back, if he has the right to do so. The matter is serious, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2679. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. A man said to his wife, "If you go to this house, you are divorced," and she went. Does she become divorced or not?
Answer: According to the four schools of jurisprudence—the Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanafi, and Hanbali schools—the wife becomes divorced, even if he intended only to swear an oath. The wife becomes divorced because this is a divorce contingent on a condition; if the condition is met, the contingent act takes place.
The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) chose the position that if he intended divorce, she is divorced; but if he intended to emphasize the prohibition and threaten the woman, she is not divorced, though he owes an expiation for the oath. What the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) chose is the correct view, if Allah wills. However, we advise all our Muslim brothers to avoid this statement, because as you see now, the majority of the Ummah and all the Imams hold that the divorce takes place, and this man’s intercourse with his wife would be forbidden intercourse because she is divorced, unless he intends to take her back, if he has the right to do so. The matter is serious, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: