Back to search

What is the ruling on saying "You are divorced" and "By divorce" with the intention of threatening, not divorcing?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold that a conditional divorce takes effect upon the fulfillment of the condition, even if the husband did not intend divorce but rather a threat. So, if you made your wife's divorce conditional twice upon two matters and then breached both conditions, then according to the majority, two divorces are incumbent upon you, provided that the second divorce occurs while your wife is still under your marital bond (either during her iddah or after reconciliation). Otherwise, it does not take effect.

However, according to the madhhab of Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and those who agreed with him, divorce is not binding upon you if you did not intend it, and an expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat yameen) is required for each oath.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy