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Do the mentioned oaths (by Allah and by divorce) take effect after the wife has violated what was sworn upon, knowing that the intention of the first oath was to threaten?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The husband's statement to his wife, "You will not remain under my marital bond for a single minute," is a kinayah (allusion) that can mean divorce or something else. If he did not intend divorce by it, then no divorce occurs.

As for his swearing to his wife that she should not sleep in the house and her disobeying him, her divorce occurs as a result, according to the majority of scholars, and this is the fatwa (religious ruling) issued. Some scholars, like Ibn Taymiyyah, hold the view that it is the ruling of an oath for which expiation is required if he did not intend to make the divorce conditional upon it.

If a revocable divorce occurs, the husband has the right to take his wife back before her 'iddah (waiting period) expires. It is obligatory for the wife to return to her husband's house and remain there until her 'iddah expires, and it is not permissible for the husband to expel her.

The wife is obliged to obey her husband in what is good and permissible. Swearing by divorce is not legislated and should be avoided.

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

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