What is the expiation for an oath of divorce, whether sworn in a state of anger or without anger, especially if the oath is repeated?
Scholars differ on the ruling concerning someone who says to his wife, "I divorce you if you do such-and-such," or "You are divorced if you do such-and-such," when he does not intend divorce but rather a threat:
1. First Opinion (Majority of Scholars): Divorce occurs if the condition is met, as the wording is explicit and cannot be diverted by any other intention. According to this opinion, if someone swears by divorce and breaks his oath three times, his wife becomes irrevocably divorced from him, and she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband, whether the breaking of the oath was close in time or distant. 2. Second Opinion: Divorce does not occur, and the speaker must pay expiation for an oath, because he did not intend divorce but rather prevention and emphasis.
As for the state of anger: Anger generally does not prevent the occurrence of divorce, because it usually does not happen except due to it. Divorce does not occur if the husband's anger reaches a state where he is unaware of anything and cannot control his actions, by analogy with one who is coerced or insane, based on the hadith: "There is no divorce and no manumission in a state of closure (i.e., extreme duress or mental incapacitation)."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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