Does a divorce take place if a husband says, "By Allah, you are divorced," while he is asleep and unaware of what he is saying, knowing that he utters words while asleep and forgets them after waking up?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A husband's statement to his wife, "You are divorced," is an explicit pronouncement that effects divorce. However, it does not take effect if the husband utters it while asleep and unconscious, due to the : "The pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeper until he awakens..." What is considered in the occurrence or non-occurrence of divorce is the husband's statement, not the wife's. If the husband was conscious of what he said, then the divorce takes effect; if he was not conscious, it does not.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 120896
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy