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Is the phrase "علي الطلاق" (upon divorce) an explicit or an allusive expression, and can the statements of Imam Malik and Ibn Taymiyyah regarding it be mentioned to the questioner?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The first fatwa: "Upon me be divorce," without a condition, is an issue on which scholars differ. Some consider it an explicit statement that causes divorce without intention, while others consider it an implicit statement (kinayah). Still, others do not consider it either explicit or implicit. Ibn Abidin stated that the prevailing custom in some regions has made this phrase one of the explicit forms of divorce, causing divorce to occur without intention. The intention mentioned in this fatwa refers to the intention behind the utterance of the word, not the intention to divorce.

The second fatwa: This relates to the divorce oath. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds the view that it is an expiable oath (yamin mukaffirah) and does not result in divorce as long as the swearer does not intend divorce. It is mentioned regarding the Malikis that divorce does not occur if the husband does not utter the phrase on which the divorce was made conditional.

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

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