Does the wife's going out to a Quran memorization school constitute divorce after the husband's oath: "It is divorce upon me if you leave the house for a month," and is the wife's obedience to her husband in this matter obligatory, and is expiation (kaffara) required of the husband if he wishes to retract before the end of the period?

Scholars have differed concerning the ruling on swearing an oath by divorce if it is conditional upon an event. The majority of them hold that divorce occurs absolutely upon breaking the oath, and this is the fatwa we adopt. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and those who agreed with him are of the view that if swearing an oath by divorce is intended for emphasis, prevention, or encouragement, divorce does not occur. Instead, the one who swore the oath is required to offer an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yameen) if he breaks it.

Based on this, the fatwa we adopt is that if the wife leaves the house before the end of the month, her divorce occurs. The husband may take her back during her 'iddah (waiting period) if this divorce does not complete the three divorces. However, according to Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah's view, divorce does not occur, and the husband is obliged to offer an expiation for an oath.

Obedience to the husband in what is good is obligatory, and it is not permissible for a woman to leave her husband's house without his permission, unless there is a necessity.