Does a husband's statement to his wife, "You are unlawful to me," accompanied by a specified period, followed by making her lawful again after that period expires, constitute a prohibition (tahrim)? And what is the ruling on her remaining with him in the same house while she is separated from him out of fear that she may be unlawful to him, and he is inviting her to return, claiming that he only intended to threaten her?

Scholars have differed concerning the ruling on a husband prohibiting his wife to himself. Some have held that it constitutes ẓihār, others that it is a divorce, and yet others that it is an oath (yamīn). The preponderant view, in our opinion, is that it falls under the ruling of an oath if the husband did not intend anything else. Accordingly, if the husband made the prohibition conditional upon a specific period and did not engage in conjugal relations with his wife during that time, then there is no obligation upon him, neither an expiation for an oath nor an expiation for ẓihār. The wife is obliged to obey her husband in what is right. We advise presenting the matter to a Sharia court or to trusted scholars. We also caution that using words of prohibition and divorce to threaten the wife is an unlawful practice.