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The question

Can one retract an oath of divorce—"You will be divorced if you speak to your uncle"—without it counting as a divorce?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

If you suspend a divorce on your wife speaking to her maternal uncle, then, according to the majority of scholars, it takes effect if she speaks to him, and it is not permissible to retract this suspension. The way out is for her not to speak to her maternal uncle. However, Ibn Taymiyyah holds that you are obligated to offer expiation for an oath (kaffarat yameen) if you did not intend divorce, but if you did intend divorce, then it takes effect, though you are permitted to retract this suspension. The majority of scholars hold that divorce takes effect upon the wife speaking to her maternal uncle, and the oath is dissolved, and you can take your wife back if this was not the third divorce.

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

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