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Does divorce occur with the statement, "By divorce, we will not take her back, even if he owned the entire village," should the sister return to her husband, whose return to whom she (the speaker) opposes?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold that whoever swears an oath by divorce and then breaks it, their divorce takes effect, whether they intended divorce or merely a threat. However, Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that swearing by divorce as a threat or for emphasis obligates the person to an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) if they break it, and the divorce does not occur. Our fatwa here follows the view of the majority. Therefore, if you return your sister to her husband, your divorce takes effect. If it is not the third divorce, you may take back your wife during her 'iddah (waiting period). As for the view of Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, if you intended emphasis and not divorce, then you are obligated to an expiation for an oath, and your divorce does not occur. If your sister returns to her husband without your consent, and your intention was merely to prevent her return, then you do not break your oath. And wise people must intervene to reconcile them or for them to divorce.

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

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