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Does the divorce take effect with the words "Divorce upon me, I will never take anything from her" if he intended by it to compel and punish the mother, then he took something from her, having forgotten his oath?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold that a conditional divorce takes effect upon the fulfillment of the condition. However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that an expiation for breaking an oath is required if the husband did not intend divorce. If a husband swears by divorce that he will not take money from his mother, but then takes it forgetfully, the divorce does not occur according to the Shafi'is and in one narration from the Hanbalis, which is also the choice of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim. Therefore, the wife remains under her husband's marital bond, and no divorce occurs, nor is an expiation required, but the husband erred by swearing by divorce. To resolve the difference of opinion, the husband can consider the divorce to have occurred and take his wife back before the 'iddah period ends, or remarry her anew afterward.

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

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