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What is the ruling on someone who said to his wife, "It is haram and you are divorced" if she doesn't open the door, then said, "It is haram and I am divorced if I do not bathe until after a week," intending the ritual bath for Eid while he was in a state of major ritual impurity (junub), then he performed the ritual bath for purification? And what is the ruling on someone who said, "It is haram, three irrevocable divorces," [meaning] his wife will not go to the farm unless his nephew's wife, who refuses to go, goes? Is the oath restricted to the end of the harvest or is it perpetual?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

An oath is based on the intention of the swearer. If the wording allows for what he intended, his oath is directed to that intention. If there is no intention, then what is considered is the reason for the oath, then the apparent meaning of the wording.

If your intention or the reason for your oath was to completely abstain from ghusl, then you have broken your oath by performing ghusl a week ago. However, if your intention required abstaining from ghusl in a specific way that did not include your ghusl from the previous janabah, then you have not broken your oath. If you had no specific intention and your oath had no specific reason to direct it to a particular meaning, then you have broken your oath by performing ghusl.

Regarding preventing your wife from going to the farm, if your intention or the reason for the oath was to prevent her absolutely, then you have broken your oath by her going at any time. However, if the intention or the reason was to prevent her only during harvest time, then you do not break your oath by her going at another time.

If you have broken your oath, please refer to Fatwa no. 107653 to know the consequences. Also, refer to Fatwa no. 35574 regarding the issue of conditioning divorce with the word "one" or "three", and for the effect of severe anger on divorce and prohibition, refer to Fatwa no. 35561.

Since this issue involves details and differing opinions, it is best to present it to trustworthy scholars.

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

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