Back to search

What is the ruling on one who swears by divorce to do something but does not do it, and what are the consequences of that?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a husband swears an oath of divorce regarding an action and does not perform it:

If he intended to perform it within a specific time, and that time elapsed without him performing it, then a single divorce occurs, provided he did not swear by more than one. This is the view of the majority of scholars.

However, if he intended to perform it at any time, then the divorce occurs upon his death if he dies without having performed what he swore upon. The consequence of this becomes apparent in her not inheriting from him if she had already been divorced twice before.

Some scholars are of the view that the divorce does not occur, but rather an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) becomes obligatory, if his intention was to prevent, encourage, affirm, or deny.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy