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What is the ruling of the Sharia and what should the wife do if the husband swears by divorce that he will never approach her again?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Swearing by divorce is not permissible. Some scholars have given the wife the right to separate from a husband who frequently swears by divorce. According to the majority of scholars, the wife is divorced if the husband breaks his oath of divorce. However, Shaykh al-Islam is of the view that if the swearer intended an oath and did not intend the suspension of divorce, then he must pay an expiation for an oath, and his divorce does not occur. If a husband swears not to approach his wife, then if his intention was to prevent himself, he must pay an expiation for an oath, and no divorce occurs. But if his intention was for divorce to occur, then divorce does occur. Many scholars consider swearing by divorce to abandon intercourse as īlāʾ (a vow of abstinence). The wife must explain to her husband the seriousness of being lenient in swearing by divorce, and that breaking such an oath results in divorce according to the majority of scholars. Repeating this three times leads to an irrevocable divorce (baynūnah kubrā) after which she is not lawful for him until she marries another man.

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

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