The Ruling on Swearing by Divorce with the Intention of Prevention or Encouragement

A brother asks, saying: I swore by divorce three times that my mother would not do such-and-such, but she did it. My intention in this was to prevent my mother. I went to one of the scholars, and he told me: It counts as one divorce, and he returned my wife to me between him and me, and Allah is a witness to that, and there were no witnesses. He also told me: Give your wife some money, and I gave her what he told me to. I heard in some of your program episodes that if the intention is not divorce, then the expiation for an oath is counted on me. I am inquiring about this, and six years have passed. Please inform us, may Allah reward you?
Answer: If you were satisfied with the previous fatwa and your heart was at peace with it and you acted upon it, then count it as one divorce, as the one who issued the fatwa to you did, and praise be to Allah. As for the future, if something like this happens and your intention is an oath, not your intention is to effect a divorce, but your intention is to prevent the person from doing what you swore about in the divorce, or to encourage him to do it, as if you say: I have sworn by divorce that you do such-and-such, or give me such-and-such, and your intention is to encourage him to do the thing, or to prevent him from it, as if you say: By Allah, do not do such-and-such, or I have sworn by divorce that you do not do such-and-such, and he defied you, and your intention is only encouragement and prevention, not your intention is to effect a divorce, then the divorce does not take place, and you owe the expiation for the oath.
But this fatwa that was issued by the mufti and you were satisfied with it, it remains as it is. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you. I do not know, Your Eminence, people are lax with such a phrase, saying: I have sworn by divorce that you do not do, or I have sworn by divorce that you do. If you admonish them about it?
The Shaykh: The warning about this has been mentioned previously, and that it is disliked and should not be done. It should be that the believer distances himself from divorce and playing with divorce. He should be wary of swearing by divorce and frequenting divorce in his speech with his family or others; because divorce is a serious matter and it may cause separation from his family. He should be cautious of that, and not divorce except out of need, with insight, and with conviction regarding the divorce. And if he divorces, he divorces only once, not with three. It is obligatory that he restricts himself to only one. This is the Sunnah, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was angry with the one who divorced with three. The believer, if he intends divorce, should examine himself and be deliberate and not hasten. So if he resolves on divorce, he divorces only once, in the state that the woman is pure in a purity in which he did not have intercourse with her, or in the state that she is pregnant. This is the Sunnah. Divorce occurs in two states:
One of them: That she is pregnant.
The second: That she is pure in a purity in which he did not have intercourse with her and she is not pregnant. This is the place of the Sunnah divorce, and the Sunnah is only one, only one divorce. As for divorce during menstruation or post-natal bleeding or in a purity in which he had intercourse with her, it is a reprehensible divorce that is not permissible, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Talaq:1]. The scholars said: Its meaning is: Divorce them while they are pure without intercourse. This is the meaning of: that they be pure without intercourse or pregnant. This is divorce for the waiting period. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.