Ruling on the divorce of a drug user

Question:
Do you allow us, O Shaykh, to ask about the divorce of a drug user?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The presenter: Does it take effect or not?

Answer:
This requires a detailed explanation:
If the intoxication has overcome him and altered his mind, and he is not aware of what is happening to him in a way that allows him to control how he speaks, then his divorce does not take effect. Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) ibn Affan, the Rightly Guided Caliph, issued a ruling to this effect, and a group of scholars held this view. Abu al-Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and his student, the scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), preferred this view, and this is the ruling I issue.
It is the stronger opinion in my view, and this is the ruling I issue. Yes.
However, if the intoxication has passed and he is of sound mind, understanding what he says, then his divorce takes effect. Some scholars held that his divorce takes effect in all cases if he is sinful, meaning if his intoxication was without excuse and he consumed intoxicants while sinful. They say that his sin should not be a reason for leniency toward him, and they consider the pronouncement of divorce to be a punishment for him as well. This is the opinion of the majority: that the divorce takes effect on him if he is sinful, even if his mind has been impaired. This is a view that, upon reflection, is not good. How can one be held accountable for something he does not understand? The limit is sufficient; the limit that Allah has prescribed for him is sufficient to deter him from intoxicants: the legal limit of eighty lashes.
As for punishing him with something else new, which is pronouncing the divorce on him and separating him from his family and children, this is a punishment for which there is no evidence.
Therefore, the correct view is: if he has lost his mind, even if he is sinful, his divorce does not take effect, as Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) ruled, as mentioned earlier. As for the one who is excused, meaning: if something was given to him that intoxicates him without his choice, or if he drank something he thought was a safe beverage but it turned out to be intoxicating, and he did not intend it, and it is known from his condition and the evidence at hand that he did not intend it, then his divorce does not take effect, like that of a madman; because he is not sinful. For example, if he was given something he thought was not wine, thinking it was tea, or if it was a beverage that became wine and they deceived him, then his divorce does not take effect; because he is excused, like a madman. The point of disagreement is the sinful person who intentionally drank the intoxicant, and his mind was impaired by the intoxicant. This is where the disagreement lies.
The stronger opinion is also that his divorce does not take effect, like one who lost his mind without any action on his part. This is the correct view and the stronger opinion. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He benefit us with your knowledge.