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Is a wife considered divorced if she leaves the house twice without her husband's knowledge or permission, after he sent her a message in English stating: "If you leave the house without my knowledge, or if I don't agree, then you are divorced," knowing that his intention was to discipline her, and that her leaving was not out of necessity?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Writing divorce as a metaphor (kinayah) does not effectuate divorce unless intended. Conditional divorce (talaq mu'allaq) that depends on two matters linked by the word "or" takes effect upon the occurrence of either of them. So, if the wife leaves without her husband's knowledge or permission, the divorce takes effect if the husband intended what he wrote. It is not permissible for the wife to leave her husband's house except with his permission; otherwise, she is disobedient (nashiz). Both spouses must strive to ensure the stability of their marital life and resolve problems away from the pronouncements of divorce.

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

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