Ruling on one who swore by divorce that his wife would not go to the neighbors, then gave her permission
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Question:
This is a question from listener (A. B. Sh.) from Riyadh. He says: I swore to my wife by divorce in a moment of anger that she would not go to the neighbors. I told her: "If you go to the neighbors, you are divorced three times." In fact, she did not go until one day the son of the neighbors came to tell her that his mother, who is our neighbor, was sick. I ordered her to go visit her. What is obligatory for me in this situation? And is my wife considered divorced or not?
Please inform us. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If the intention behind this divorce was to prevent her from going out, and the intention was not to effect the divorce if she went out or went, but rather your intention, O questioner, was to prevent her from going out to the neighbors, and the intention was not that if she went out the divorce would take place, but you wanted to frighten and warn her, then in this case there is an expiation for the oath. Since she went out for the purpose of visiting the sick woman, you owe an expiation for the oath, even if it was with your permission. The expiation for the oath is feeding ten poor people or clothing them—ten people—giving them half a sa' of dates, or one and a half kilograms of dates, or rice, according to the staple food of the country. If you clothe them, one shirt each, or give them an izar (waist cloth) and a rida' (cloak), that is sufficient.
Unless you intended in this oath of yours ("except with your permission")—if you intended by saying "you are divorced three times if you go" to mean "except with my permission." If you intended that if she went out with your permission, there is no harm, then you are on your intention, and nothing is required of you in that case, because you gave her permission. But if you did not intend "except with your permission" and said it as a firm prohibition, then if she went out, even with your permission, you owe an expiation for the oath, which you have learned about if the intention was to prevent her.
As for if the intention was to effect the divorce if she went out, and you did not intend "except with your permission," but rather intended to prevent her and intended to effect the divorce if she went out, then by her going out to them, one divorce takes place, one divorce. And you have the right to take her back during the waiting period if you had not divorced her twice before this. If you have not divorced her twice before, you have the right to take her back during the waiting period before it ends. If the waiting period ends and you do not take her back, she is forbidden to you except by a new marriage contract and a new bridal gift. This is if you had not divorced her twice before. But if you had divorced her twice before this and you intended to effect the divorce with this statement, then she is forbidden by that, becoming the final divorce, if you intended to effect the divorce if she went to the neighbor. This divorce takes place and completes the three, if there were two divorces before it. Yes.
The presenter: Is his statement "three times" not considered as a number?
The Shaykh: It is considered as one on the correct view, because the three with a single phrase is considered as one on the correct view, because it is established in the authentic hadith from the hadith of Ibn Abbas what indicates this. Yes.
The presenter: What if the divorce was repeated?
The Shaykh: It is according to its count. If he repeated it intending to emphasize, nothing takes place. And if he repeated it intending to effect the divorce a second and third time, it takes place.
The presenter: It takes place?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with the best reward.
This is a question from listener (A. B. Sh.) from Riyadh. He says: I swore to my wife by divorce in a moment of anger that she would not go to the neighbors. I told her: "If you go to the neighbors, you are divorced three times." In fact, she did not go until one day the son of the neighbors came to tell her that his mother, who is our neighbor, was sick. I ordered her to go visit her. What is obligatory for me in this situation? And is my wife considered divorced or not?
Please inform us. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If the intention behind this divorce was to prevent her from going out, and the intention was not to effect the divorce if she went out or went, but rather your intention, O questioner, was to prevent her from going out to the neighbors, and the intention was not that if she went out the divorce would take place, but you wanted to frighten and warn her, then in this case there is an expiation for the oath. Since she went out for the purpose of visiting the sick woman, you owe an expiation for the oath, even if it was with your permission. The expiation for the oath is feeding ten poor people or clothing them—ten people—giving them half a sa' of dates, or one and a half kilograms of dates, or rice, according to the staple food of the country. If you clothe them, one shirt each, or give them an izar (waist cloth) and a rida' (cloak), that is sufficient.
Unless you intended in this oath of yours ("except with your permission")—if you intended by saying "you are divorced three times if you go" to mean "except with my permission." If you intended that if she went out with your permission, there is no harm, then you are on your intention, and nothing is required of you in that case, because you gave her permission. But if you did not intend "except with your permission" and said it as a firm prohibition, then if she went out, even with your permission, you owe an expiation for the oath, which you have learned about if the intention was to prevent her.
As for if the intention was to effect the divorce if she went out, and you did not intend "except with your permission," but rather intended to prevent her and intended to effect the divorce if she went out, then by her going out to them, one divorce takes place, one divorce. And you have the right to take her back during the waiting period if you had not divorced her twice before this. If you have not divorced her twice before, you have the right to take her back during the waiting period before it ends. If the waiting period ends and you do not take her back, she is forbidden to you except by a new marriage contract and a new bridal gift. This is if you had not divorced her twice before. But if you had divorced her twice before this and you intended to effect the divorce with this statement, then she is forbidden by that, becoming the final divorce, if you intended to effect the divorce if she went to the neighbor. This divorce takes place and completes the three, if there were two divorces before it. Yes.
The presenter: Is his statement "three times" not considered as a number?
The Shaykh: It is considered as one on the correct view, because the three with a single phrase is considered as one on the correct view, because it is established in the authentic hadith from the hadith of Ibn Abbas what indicates this. Yes.
The presenter: What if the divorce was repeated?
The Shaykh: It is according to its count. If he repeated it intending to emphasize, nothing takes place. And if he repeated it intending to effect the divorce a second and third time, it takes place.
The presenter: It takes place?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with the best reward.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.