The ruling on one who swears by divorce to do such-and-such and does not do it

Question: A man, while in a state of forgetfulness due to the novelty of his marriage, said: “I swear by divorce that next year I will buy such-and-such.” If he does not buy it, is his wife divorced? And if he does not buy it, what is required of him? It is known that it was not his habit to swear by divorce, to the extent that he sought forgiveness from Allah.

Answer: The ruling on such speech varies according to the husband’s intention: If his intention was to compel himself to buy and to encourage himself to do so, and he did not intend to divorce his wife if he did not buy the need he mentioned in his divorce, then this divorce is considered an oath—according to the most correct opinion of the scholars—and he must pay its expiation. The expiation is: feeding ten poor people, giving each poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the staple food of the land, such as dates or otherwise, which is approximately one and a half kilograms. If he feeds the ten people dinner or breakfast, or clothes them with a garment that suffices them for prayer, that is sufficient for him.
However, if his intention was to effect the divorce of his wife if he did not buy the need, then the divorce takes effect on her.
The believer should avoid using divorce in such conditional statements; because many of the scholars hold that the divorce takes effect in such cases absolutely. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is agreed upon as authentic.