Does divorce occur with the statement "Divorce upon me, you will not sleep in my arms for three months," if what was intended was the cessation of marital intimacy and not the occurrence of divorce?

The majority of scholars hold that swearing an oath by divorce causes divorce to occur upon breaking the oath, regardless of whether the intention was actual divorce or merely a threat, or anything else. This is the adopted fatwa. Accordingly, if the husband had intercourse with his wife before the aforementioned period (three months), divorce occurs. He may take her back if this divorce is not the third and final one.

In contrast, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the view that swearing an oath by divorce, when actual divorce is not intended but rather a threat, has the same ruling as swearing an oath by Allah. Thus, upon breaking the oath, an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) becomes obligatory, and divorce does not occur. Based on this, it is permissible for the husband to have intercourse with his wife before the period, and he must offer an expiation for an oath (feeding ten poor persons or clothing them, or fasting three days if he cannot find either).

It should be noted that swearing an oath by divorce is impermissible and is considered among the oaths of the dissolute.