Does divorce occur if the husband says to his wife: "If you betray me, you are not my wife, and I don't know you," then he intends divorce after her questioning, knowing that the wife had betrayed him before he uttered the phrase?
The majority of scholars hold that if a husband makes his wife's divorce contingent upon a condition, then if the condition is met, the wife is divorced, whether the husband intended to effect the divorce or merely intended to threaten, confirm, or prevent. This is the authoritative view (al-mufta bihi). Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, however, holds that if the husband did not intend to effect a divorce but rather intended to threaten or confirm, then no divorce occurs; rather, he is obligated to offer an expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat ).
If the husband did not intend divorce at the time of the contingency but then intended it after his wife's question, without creating a new contingency, then the later intention is not considered.
If the husband, by saying, "You are not my wife," intended a contingency relating to the future or the past, then if she does what the divorce was made contingent upon, her divorce occurs. It is preferable to present these matters to trustworthy scholars.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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