A dispute occurred between him and his wife, and he said to her, “I divorce you, I will do such and such,” whether it was one or three. What is the ruling?
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The questioner : Noble Shaykh, if a man has a dispute with his wife and says to her, “I divorce you, I will do such and such,” whether it is one or three?
The Shaykh : First: I advise husbands in general not to be lax with the word of divorce, and not to rush into it. I say: if a man says to his wife, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” or “I divorce you if you do such and such,” and then she disobeys, the majority of scholars hold that she is divorced in any case. They say that this is an explicit divorce, so the divorce must take effect just as if it were not conditional. It is well known that if a man says to his wife, “You are divorced,” she is divorced. But if it is conditional, and he says, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” or “If you do not do such and such, you are divorced,” the majority of scholars said that the conditional is like the immediate, and that if she disobeys her husband in that matter, she is divorced in any case. Thus, the issue is serious and not easy.
However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) held that if he intended by it to urge or prevent, its ruling is the ruling of an oath. That is, the wife is not divorced, and he expiates with the expiation of an oath. So if he says to his wife, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” and she does it, according to the majority of scholars, she is divorced. According to the saying of Shaykh al-Islam, we ask the man: “Did you intend that if the wife did this, she would be divorced, and that you were content to part with her?”
If he says, “Yes,” we say, “Then she is divorced.” And if he says, “No, I only intended to emphasize the prohibition of this thing and threaten her with divorce,” we say, “Then your divorce is in the ruling of an oath, so you expiate with the expiation of an oath, and there is no divorce upon you.”
And by this, may Allah bless you, you have known the seriousness of this issue, and that it is not a trivial matter for a person to come and say, “I said such and such,” and then we issue a ruling that he has an oath and he leaves. Rather, we advise him and admonish him, and then we ask him for details. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: I advise husbands in general not to be lax with the word of divorce, and not to rush into it. I say: if a man says to his wife, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” or “I divorce you if you do such and such,” and then she disobeys, the majority of scholars hold that she is divorced in any case. They say that this is an explicit divorce, so the divorce must take effect just as if it were not conditional. It is well known that if a man says to his wife, “You are divorced,” she is divorced. But if it is conditional, and he says, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” or “If you do not do such and such, you are divorced,” the majority of scholars said that the conditional is like the immediate, and that if she disobeys her husband in that matter, she is divorced in any case. Thus, the issue is serious and not easy.
However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) held that if he intended by it to urge or prevent, its ruling is the ruling of an oath. That is, the wife is not divorced, and he expiates with the expiation of an oath. So if he says to his wife, “If you do such and such, you are divorced,” and she does it, according to the majority of scholars, she is divorced. According to the saying of Shaykh al-Islam, we ask the man: “Did you intend that if the wife did this, she would be divorced, and that you were content to part with her?”
If he says, “Yes,” we say, “Then she is divorced.” And if he says, “No, I only intended to emphasize the prohibition of this thing and threaten her with divorce,” we say, “Then your divorce is in the ruling of an oath, so you expiate with the expiation of an oath, and there is no divorce upon you.”
And by this, may Allah bless you, you have known the seriousness of this issue, and that it is not a trivial matter for a person to come and say, “I said such and such,” and then we issue a ruling that he has an oath and he leaves. Rather, we advise him and admonish him, and then we ask him for details. Yes.