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Does a divorce occur when a man tells his wife, "If your brother comes to the house, then you are divorced," while he has forgotten whether he added "except with my permission" or what his intention was behind the utterance, especially since this is the third divorce and he has forgotten the oath, and her brother entered the house with his permission?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold the view that a conditional divorce takes effect if the condition upon which it is suspended is fulfilled. There is no difference whether the husband intended divorce or something else, as long as his oath is explicit. The doubt regarding restricting entry with permission is not considered, because the default is absolute (unrestricted). If this divorce completes the three (divorces), then the wife becomes unlawful for her husband until she marries another man. However, Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds the view that divorce does not occur if the husband did not confirm his intention, and an expiation for breaking an oath is required.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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