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What is the ruling regarding the occurrence of a suspended divorce when the act upon which it was suspended is done out of forgetfulness or misinterpretation, given that there are two opinions, one stating that it does not occur and the other that it does? And what should the husband do if he repeatedly breaks his oath three times out of forgetfulness? Should he leave his wife, acting upon the Hadith: "Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt," or should he weigh between the different opinions?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Some scholars lean towards the view that divorce does not occur if the wife performs the action upon which her divorce was conditioned. In matters of dispute, a Muslim acts upon what they believe to be the truth, either by examining the evidence and acting upon the strongest opinion if capable, or by following the one they trust most. The hadith "Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt" applies when there is doubt or ambiguity in a ruling. Acting upon it when in doubt about the occurrence of divorce means not heeding the doubt and remaining upon the original state of marriage. If opinions are equal, a Muslim follows the easier opinion, because this aligns with the ease of the Islamic religion. It is permissible for one afflicted by obsessive doubts to adopt the easiest of the differing opinions.

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

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