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Does divorce occur if a man says to his wife: "If you speak to him a second time, then you are unlawful to me," and then his wife speaks to him to resolve a personal photo issue that she suspected he had, and this occurs in the presence of her husband and with his knowledge of the reason?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A husband's declaration of حرمة (prohibition) upon his wife depends on his intention: if he intended divorce, it is a divorce; if he intended ẓihār, it is ẓihār; and if he intended an oath or nothing at all, then he must offer expiation for a broken oath (kaffārat yamīn). Since the questioner intended divorce, if his suspension was contingent on the wife's general conversation with the aforementioned man, then divorce occurs when she speaks to end the relationship. However, if his intention was specifically regarding speech arising from suspicion, then he has not broken his oath by the mentioned conversation, as an oath is based on the intention of the one swearing it. In the event of divorce, he can take her back before the end of her ʿiddah (waiting period), provided that this divorce does not complete the three divorces.

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

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