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Does a divorce take place when the husband said to his wife: "You are divorced if you give birth in the hospital," and she did indeed give birth there? And if it takes place, how is the waiting period (iddah) calculated?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The madhhab of the majority of scholars regarding someone who suspends his wife's divorce upon a condition is that the divorce occurs upon the fulfillment of that condition, whether he intended divorce or merely to prevent her. However, others, including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, differentiated: if he intended divorce, it occurs; but if he only intended prevention, then an expiation for a broken oath (kaffarat yameen) is incumbent upon him. It is advisable to refer to the Sharia courts for such matters. Based on the opinion of occurrence (of divorce), the waiting period (iddah) begins immediately after childbirth, and it is three menstrual cycles (aqra’). The breach of the condition and the completion of the waiting period by the conclusion of childbirth cannot be conceived unless the husband intended the divorce to occur as soon as she entered labor.

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

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