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What is the ruling on breaking an oath of triple divorce not to return to a certain job, given the need to return to it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If you swore by triple divorce not to work in a certain place, and then you needed that job, the fatwa is that your wife is divorced by triple talaq if you work in that place, and this is the opinion of most scholars. Ibn Taymiyyah holds that the ruling on swearing by divorce, when the intention is not to effect divorce but rather to threaten or emphasize, is the same as swearing by Allah. Thus, if the oath is broken, an expiation for an oath becomes due, and no divorce occurs. If triple divorce was intended by the wording, Ibn Taymiyyah holds that a single divorce occurs. So, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, if you did not intend to effect a divorce, you can return to work and pay an expiation for an oath, and no divorce will occur. If you did intend to effect a divorce, then you can return to work, and a single divorce will occur, and you may take her back during her 'iddah (waiting period) if you have not divorced her more than once before. It is important to be cautious about swearing by divorce, as it is among the oaths of the dissolute, and grave consequences may result from it.

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

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