Back to search

Does a conditional divorce, in the form of "she is divorced if she travels to that country," take effect after a second marriage, knowing that she was divorced the first time and then reunited with her husband after the waiting period (iddah) ended?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a man makes his wife's divorce conditional upon a certain event, and then divorces her for another reason and takes her back, the matter involves elaboration and disagreement among jurists:

Firstly: If he takes her back before her waiting period ('iddah) ends, then by agreement of the jurists, the conditional divorce remains in effect. If the condition is met, the divorce occurs.

Secondly: If her waiting period ends and he then contracts a new marriage with her, there are two opinions among scholars: 1. The previous condition is annulled and the oath is cancelled immediately upon the separation. Divorce does not occur if the condition is met after the new contract. This is the madhhab of the Shafi'is and the choice of Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin, and it is the more probable view. 2. The previous condition is not annulled, and if it is met after the new contract, the divorce occurs. This is the madhhab of the Hanafis, Malikis, and Hanbalis.

Thirdly: If a major separation occurs (triple divorce) and she marries another man and then returns to the first, then by agreement of the jurists, all previous divorces and conditional clauses are cancelled.

Note: The conditional divorce depends on the intention of the divorcer. If he intended a threat, the divorce does not occur, but if he intended to cause the divorce, it does occur.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy