What is the ruling on someone who said to his wife, "Do such-and-such, and you are divorced," meaning to say, "If you do such-and-such, then you are divorced," bearing in mind that he did not intend divorce by it?

If a man says to his wife: "Do such-and-such, and you are divorced," intending to suspend the divorce upon her action, then she is not divorced unless she performs the act upon which the divorce was suspended. Scholars have differed regarding the ruling on divorce suspended upon a condition. The majority of them hold that it takes effect upon the fulfillment of the condition, whether the husband intended divorce or intended emphasis or threat. This is the fatwa (ruling) that is adopted. Some scholars, like Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, are of the view that swearing by divorce with the intention of emphasis does not result in divorce; rather, the one who swore must offer an expiation for breaking an oath.