Back to search

What is the ruling on divorcing one's wife out of anger because she wore gloves, after saying: "Divorced be she if she wears them," when there is no certainty of her intention to wear them again?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Swearing an oath by divorce is prohibited in Islamic law. The majority of scholars hold the view that divorce occurs upon breaking such an oath, whether the intention behind it was actual divorce, a threat, or anything else. However, some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, are of the opinion that if the intention was not to make the divorce conditional, then the one who breaks the oath is liable for an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) and the divorce does not take place. Accordingly, the wife is divorced upon breaking the oath. The breaking of the oath depends on the intention of the swearer at the time of swearing. If there is no clear intention, then the reference point is the reason for the oath. If there is no reason, then the reference is the apparent meaning of the words of the oath. As long as the wording does not imply repetition, it refers to a single instance.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy