What is the ruling regarding a husband's statement to his wife: "You are unlawful to me if you do not tell me such and such," if this is repeated and the wife lies out of fear of him?

Scholars differed concerning the ruling on swearing by the unlawfulness of one's wife, and the fatwa adopted by us is that the ruling depends on the intention of the one swearing:

- If he intended divorce: divorce occurs.

- If he intended ẓihār: ẓihār occurs and its expiation becomes obligatory before conjugal relations with the wife.

- If he intended an oath or did not intend anything specific: an expiation for an oath becomes obligatory.

If swearing by unlawfulness is repeated and one breaks the oath, you are bound by what results from it according to the number of repetitions. If you forget the number, you must observe the minimum number you are certain of.

Swearing by the unlawful is impermissible. The prescribed oath is to swear by Allah the Almighty. We advise you to present your issue to trustworthy scholars.