What is the ruling on a man who said, "By triple divorce, I will not speak to So-and-so," and now wishes to speak to him?

Most scholars hold the view that swearing an oath of divorce leads to divorce upon breaking the oath, and that pronouncing "talaq" three times results in three divorces. This is the fatwa we adhere to. Accordingly, if a man speaks to someone he swore not to speak to, his wife would be divorced from him three times.

However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that an oath of divorce not intended to effect divorce but rather for threat or emphasis, is treated like an oath sworn by Allah, and requires an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) upon breaking it, with no divorce occurring. When divorce is intended, he believes that pronouncing "talaq" three times counts as a single divorce.

One should be cautious about swearing oaths of divorce, as it is among the oaths of the dissolute, and grave consequences may ensue.