What are the conditions for the validity of an oath of divorce?

The conditions for the validity of divorce are of three types: those related to the divorcer, those related to the divorced woman, and those related to the pronouncement.

The conditions for the divorcer are four: that he be a husband, of age, sane, and intending the utterance without coercion.

The conditions for the divorced woman are two: the existence of a marital relationship, either actually or constructively, and her identification by اشاره (pointing), صفة (description), or نية (intention).

The conditions for the pronouncement of divorce are: by word, writing, or gesture. As for the word, it is stipulated that there be certainty or strong presumption of its occurrence and understanding of its meaning, and the presence of the intention for divorce to occur in allusive (kinayah) expressions but not in explicit (sareeh) ones.

Scholarly opinions differ regarding the ruling on divorce, and the most correct opinion is that which holds it to be prohibited except when there is a need for it.

The Hanbalis have a detailed breakdown of the ruling on divorce: - It may be obligatory: such as the divorce decreed by the two arbitrators in a dispute (shiqaq), and the divorce of the mu'li (one who swears not to approach his wife) after the waiting period (tarabbus). - It may be forbidden: which is divorce without any need for it. - It may be permissible: when there is a need for it due to the wife's ill character and the harm she causes the husband. - It may be recommended: when the wife neglects her duties towards Allah or is not chaste.