Why is it not ruled that explicit divorce does not take effect if there was no intention on the part of the husband, following the view of Ibn Taymiyyah that every utterance made by a speaker without intention due to forgetfulness, a slip of the tongue, or lack of understanding, does not entail a ruling?
There is nothing in our fatwas concerning divorce that contradicts the words of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. We issue fatwas that if a person's tongue slips into uttering the word of divorce without intention, the divorce does not take effect. As for divorce by explicit pronouncement taking effect without intention, there is no contradiction between this and what preceded. The intention that is not required in an explicit pronouncement is the intention to cause the divorce to take effect. However, the intention that is required for divorce to take effect by an explicit pronouncement is the intention to utter the word, not the intention to cause the divorce to take effect. Whoever strives to obtain what is lawful and chastity should preserve that.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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