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Does a divorce occur if the father says to the mother, "You are divorced if you say this word again," and then, six months later, the mother says, "All men are traitors"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold that if a husband makes his wife's divorce conditional upon an event, she is divorced when that condition is met, regardless of whether the husband intended to effect a divorce, or merely to threaten, emphasize, or prevent something. Some scholars, like Ibn Taymiyyah, are of the view that divorce does not occur if the husband did not intend to effect it, but rather intended to threaten, prevent, or emphasize, and in such a case, he is liable for an expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat yamin). The determinant in specifying what the condition refers to is the oath-taker's intention if the wording allows for it. If there is no specific intention, then the determinant is the reason for the oath. Therefore, the father should be asked about his intention or the reason for his oath. If it implies the inclusion of the described situation, then divorce occurs according to the majority of scholars; otherwise, it does not.

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

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