Back to search

Has a divorce taken place with the words "If you leave, you are divorced," despite the speaker's not intending for her never to leave and his later specifying a period? And has a divorce taken place with the words "You are divorced, divorced, divorced," without the intention of a major, irrevocable divorce being specified, and is the wife considered to have had a major, irrevocable divorce in this case?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If you intended to prevent your wife from going out immediately or at a specific time, and she did not go out immediately or at that time, then your oath is fulfilled, and you have not broken it. But if she went out immediately or before the end of the specified time, then she is divorced according to the majority of scholars. However, according to some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, you owe an expiation for breaking an oath, and your divorce does not occur, as long as your intention was to prevent her and not to effect a divorce. Your statement to your wife: "You are divorced, divorced, divorced," without intending more than one divorce, counts as a single divorce. It is advisable to present the matter to trustworthy scholars.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy