Does a divorce take effect when the husband says to his wife: "You are thrice divorced if you leave the house," and she then leaves, even though he intended to restrict her leaving to a specific city she did not go to?

The majority of scholars hold that a conditional divorce takes effect if the condition upon which it was suspended occurs, and that a triple divorce pronounced simultaneously counts as three divorces. This is the fatwa (definition). However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the view that a conditional divorce does not take effect if the intention behind it was merely a threat, and that a triple divorce pronounced simultaneously counts as a single divorce. The determination of what was sworn upon is based on the intention of the one who swore the oath. So, if the husband intended to prevent going to a specific place and did not intend to prevent leaving the house in general, then divorce does not occur by going to a place other than the one he intended. The husband's statement regarding divorce is accepted because he knows his own intention best. It is advisable to counsel the husband to refrain from swearing by divorce.