Does divorce occur for one who swore by divorce to do a specific thing and then did it by mistake or forgetfulness, such as one who swore to sell a commodity at a certain price then sold it at a lower price by mistake, relying on the Hadith: "Indeed, Allah has forgiven my Ummah for their mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into," and the statements of the scholars regarding this?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Divorce does not occur by mere thoughts, even if deliberate or mistaken. However, if you utter an oath of divorce audibly, the majority of scholars hold that divorce takes effect upon breaking the oath. Some scholars, however, are of the view that the oath is not broken if the act sworn against is committed by mistake. If you utter an oath of divorce without intention or awareness due to obsessive thoughts (waswasa), your divorce is not valid. You must disregard obsessive thoughts and pay them no heed, seeking Allah's help and supplicating to be rid of them.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/133061
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 133061
- 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