What is the ruling on one who swore by divorce, saying: "Divorce upon me, I will not go for breakfast," then went for breakfast to answer an invitation, and could not determine his intention at the time of swearing?

If a man swears by divorce not to do something and then does it, and he is unsure about his intention when swearing, whether it was to effect a divorce or for emphasis or threat, then the ruling according to us and the majority of scholars is that divorce occurs upon his breaking of the oath. If the divorce is not the third, he may take his wife back during her iddah (waiting period). However, some scholars, like Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, are of the view that if this oath was not intended to effect a divorce, but rather was meant as a threat or emphasis, its ruling is that of an oath by Allah, so an expiation for an oath is required, and divorce does not occur. It appears that doubt regarding the intention prevents the occurrence of divorce according to Ibn Taymiyyah's view, and an expiation for an oath becomes obligatory.