What is the ruling on someone who said to his wife, "By divorce, I will not come to my country until I buy a house," and he was unable to fulfill that, and he lives in a rented house?
The majority of scholars hold that swearing an oath of divorce () is considered a conditional divorce. Thus, if the person breaks their oath, the divorce occurs. This is the predominant . This differs from Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who holds that its ruling is like that of an oath by Allah, and if the oath is broken, an expiation for an oath (kaffarat ) is required, and no divorce occurs.
If you made your wife's divorce conditional on buying a house and you did not buy it, then the divorce has occurred. If it was the first or second divorce, you may take her back before her waiting period () expires. However, if it was the third divorce, she is irrevocably divorced from you (baynunah kubra) and she is not lawful for you until she marries another man and he consummates the marriage with her, and then he divorces her or dies, and her waiting period expires.
If you intended to swear by divorce to glorify it, then no divorce occurs and no expiation is required, because it is a void oath, as Sheikh Alish responded. It is advisable to avoid swearing by divorce in the future, as it is prohibited.
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