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Is what was issued from the wife—in terms of retreat, fasting from speech, refraining from performing her marital duties, and abandoning her husband—considered Islamically sound? And is the husband's swearing by divorce—with the aim of proving the validity of his words or preventing his wife from something—considered a divorce? And what are the rights of the wife if she persists in this state and desires divorce, while being disobedient?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The position held by the majority of scholars is that whoever swears an oath by divorce and then breaks it, their divorce takes effect, whether they intended for it to occur or merely as a threat. This is the fatwa we adhere to. Therefore, since your wife closed the door after you swore by divorce that she should not close it, the divorce has occurred. However, according to the view of Ibn Taymiyyah, as long as you did not intend for the divorce to take effect, it has not occurred, and you must offer expiation for breaking an oath. Your wife's actions of secluding herself, boycotting you, refusing to share the bed, boycotting her mother, and refraining from speaking are all against Islamic law. She is disobedient and rebellious, and you are not obligated to provide for her. It is permissible for you to put pressure on her so that she may seek a Khul' divorce from you. You should explain to your wife that obedience to her husband is obligatory, as is honoring parents, and that boycotting her mother is among the grave sins. If she returns to living together amicably, then well and good; otherwise, there is no blame upon you for separating from her. Be aware that swearing by divorce is an oath of the wicked and can lead to dire consequences.

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

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