One who swears by divorce intending to effect it must seek a ruling from the court

This is a letter we received from the questioner, Abdul Hadi Muhammad Bakri, an Egyptian national working in Najran. He says in his letter: I am living with one of my colleagues, and I became angry with him and swore by divorce, three times, that I would not spend the night in the same room. My colleagues told me that I should spend the night there and that this would not be harmful. What is the ruling on my action? May Allah guide you.
Answer: This depends on your intention. If you intended to effect the divorce if you spent the night in the room, and then you did spend the night there, the divorce takes place. However, if you intended to restrain yourself from spending the night there and did not intend to effect the divorce, but rather intended to prevent yourself from spending the night there, then you owe an oath expiation if you do spend the night there. The expiation is feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. When you do one of these three, the objective is achieved. Feeding ten poor people means giving each poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is one and a half kilograms of dates or other staple food of the country. Or clothing them, where each person is clothed with what suffices for prayer, such as a shirt, a lower garment, and a cloak. Or freeing a believing slave. If you cannot do any of these, you fast for three days. This is if you intended to restrain yourself from spending the night there and did not intend to effect the divorce. But if you intended to effect the divorce and then spent the night there, the divorce takes place. Then you must seek a ruling from the court regarding the divorce, or write to us about it. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.