Is a husband's statement to his wife, made in anger, "I will not touch you until after seven years," considered ẓihār, and is he obligated to offer expiation before he can touch her?

A man's statement to his wife, "I will not touch you for seven years," is not zihar (injurious assimilation) and nothing is entailed by it. He is not required to offer expiation if he has intercourse with her, for it is merely a promise and not an oath. The husband must satisfy his wife sexually to the best of his ability and her need, and it is not permissible for him to abandon sexual relations with her for a long period without an excuse.