Does a divorce occur if a husband falsely swears by divorce, intending in his heart something other than what he uttered, while continuing the action he swore to abandon?
Swearing by divorce is a conditional divorce. So, whoever swears to something and then does it, or does not do what he swore to do, he is breaking his oath, and divorce takes place according to the majority of scholars. If the breaking of the oath occurs three times, the wife becomes irrevocably divorced (baynunah kubra). However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah differed on this matter, holding the view that whoever made divorce conditional without intending to effect it, but rather for threatening or preventing, is only required to pay an expiation for an oath. Because the issue is subject to scholarly disagreement, it is advisable to refer to the Sharia court to rule on it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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