Does a conditional divorce take effect if a scrupulous husband, who was angry at the moment of utterance, doubts whether he actually uttered the words of divorce, knowing that he suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder regarding divorce and constantly has self-talk about it? 1. Is it permissible to act upon the opinion of those who hold that the scruples of an obsessive person are mere self-talk and do not effectuate divorce, and does this apply to conditional divorce? 2. Does conditional divorce take effect during the period of nifas (postnatal bleeding), and does Ibn Taymiyyah's fatwa regarding the non-occurrence of bid'i (innovative) divorce during this period apply to it? 3. Is it permissible to act upon the fatwa of the Dar al-Ifta which stipulates that divorce from an obsessive person does not take effect except in the presence of a ma'dhun (authorized marriage official)? 4. In the event that the wife insists on bringing the woman upon whom the divorce was conditioned, is there a way out to prevent the divorce from taking effect, especially with the strong presumption of uttering the divorce and the doubt as to whether it was involuntary?
If you voluntarily uttered a conditional divorce oath, then your divorce takes effect when you break the condition, whether your wife is in post-natal bleeding, menstruating, or pure. This does not depend on informing anyone or an authorized official. The ruling for one who suffers from obsessive thoughts (waswas) is the same as for others. However, if you are not certain about uttering the oath, or doubt that you uttered it involuntarily, then the divorce does not take effect upon breaking the condition, because the default is the continuation of the marriage, and it is not removed by doubt. Doubt here means hesitation between the existence or non-existence of the doubted matter. We advise turning away from obsessive thoughts.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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