Is it permissible to offer expiation for an oath of divorce uttered by the husband after a verbal altercation with his brother's wife, where he swore that his wife would not sit with her in the same place, bearing in mind that he does not recall whether he swore by one divorce or by three?

The majority of scholars hold that a divorce pronounced as an oath takes effect when the condition of the oath is broken. If there is doubt about the number of divorces, the preponderant view is to assume the minimum number, such as considering it a single divorce. In this case, the wife can be taken back before the expiry of her 'iddah (waiting period), provided that this divorce does not complete the third one.