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What is the solution to a marital problem in which the husband swore by divorce that he would not go to bring back his wife who left the house, and the wife's brother swore by divorce that his sister would not return unless her husband came to escort her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The permissible oath is to swear by Allah Almighty. As for swearing by divorce, it is an oath of the immoral, and some scholars consider it forbidden. If the husband and the wife's brother swear by divorce regarding the wife's return to her husband's house, the one who should be absolved (by breaking the oath) is the wife's brother, because he swore concerning an action of another, unlike the husband who swore concerning an action he possesses. The Fatwa we adopt is that if the husband goes to bring his wife back, his divorce occurs. If the wife returns without his going, her brother's divorce occurs. Whoever's divorce has occurred and it has not completed the three divorces, he may take his wife back during her iddah. Some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, held that divorce does not occur if the husband did not intend to cause it, but he is liable for an expiation for an oath.

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

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