Does divorce occur if a man swears to his wife by divorce that he will not eat with her for a certain period, and then he eats with her before the period ends?

The view held by the majority of scholars is that if one swears by divorce, the divorce takes effect if he breaks his oath, whether he intended to effect the divorce or merely to threaten. Some scholars, like Ibn Taymiyyah, hold the view that if one swears by divorce for the purpose of threatening, he is obligated to offer an expiation for a broken oath (kaffarat yamin) and the divorce does not take effect.

Based on this, if you swore by divorce that you would not eat with your wife this week, and then you did eat, the fatwa we adopt is that your wife has been divorced once. You may reconcile with her during her 'iddah (waiting period) if this divorce does not complete the three divorces.

If your oath was conditioned upon a specific condition or description, then you do not break your oath if that condition or description is not met. It is recommended to present the matter verbally to trustworthy scholars. It is important to note that the permissible oath is to swear by Allah the Almighty. Swearing by divorce is among the oaths of the wicked and can lead to severe consequences.