Is the husband's saying to his wife: "If you want a divorce, I will go to the city court judge," or his saying: "If you harm me, I will divorce you," considered a legal divorce, knowing that he did not carry out his threat in the first case, and his intention was to threaten, and in the second case he said "I will divorce you" and not "you are divorced," and the wife slapped him on his cheek?
The statements "If you want a divorce, I will go to the court judge" and "If you harm me, I will divorce you" do not constitute a divorce, because they are a promise of divorce. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "A promise of divorce does not constitute divorce—even if the expressions are numerous—nor is it obligatory to fulfill this promise, nor is it even recommended." Divorce occurs when the husband pronounces it, and it is not a condition for its occurrence that it be in front of a judge. A wife striking her husband is impermissible.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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