Does divorce take effect with the statement: "It is unlawful and a divorce for my first wife to enter the house while you are present," if the first wife enters the house during the second wife's absence and eight months after the utterance of the statement? What is the expiation for this utterance? And what is the solution concerning the wife remaining in 'iddah?

If a husband swears by "haram and divorce," then if he breaks his oath, a divorce occurs. Scholars have differed regarding swearing by divorce when the husband does not intend divorce but rather intends a threat or emphasis. The majority hold that a divorce occurs, while others, like Ibn Taymiyyah, are of the view that it is the ruling of an oath and requires an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin).

As for the phrase "haram," its ruling depends on the husband's intention. If he intended divorce, it is a divorce. If he intended zihar (a pronouncement making his wife unlawful to him), it is zihar, and he must pay the expiation for zihar. If he intended an oath or did not intend anything, he must pay the expiation for an oath.

The breaking of the oath depends on the husband's intention in what he uttered. If the divorce is less than three pronouncements, the husband can take his wife back before her waiting period (iddah) expires.