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What is the ruling on swearing by "I swear by Ali that it is unlawful for me, and by my wife's head, I will not enter the house or the home until you come and kiss my shoe"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The phrase "عليّ الحرام" (Upon me be unlawfulness) depends on the intention of the speaker. If he intended divorce or ẓihār (a pre-Islamic form of divorce by comparing one's wife to an unmarriageable kin), then it is effective. If he intended nothing, then nothing is binding upon him.

If he intended divorce contingent on a condition, then it occurs upon the fulfillment of that condition. However, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, if he intended by it to urge or prevent something, then it is an oath, and its expiation is the expiation of an oath.

As for his statement: "وبرأس زوجتي" (By my wife's head), this is swearing by other than Allah, which is impermissible. Nothing results from it, even if divorce was intended.

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

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