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Does the divorce I uttered in anger in front of my mother count, that my wife would be divorced if I did not return to her the gold she sold for my travel, knowing that she was pregnant then and I have not been able to secure the price of the gold yet?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a man says: "My wife will be divorced if I do not return the gold she sold for my sake," and he did not intend a specific duration, then the matter is open-ended, and the divorce does not occur due to delay.

However, if he intended a specific duration: 1. If he intended to motivate himself and did not intend divorce, then this falls under the ruling of an oath, and expiation for an oath is due if he does not return the gold, and no divorce occurs. 2. If he intended divorce, meaning that if he did not return the gold, his wife would be divorced, then a single divorce occurs, and he can reconcile with his wife during her waiting period ('iddah) if it was the first or second divorce.

This detailed explanation is the view of some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, while the majority of jurists hold that divorce occurs upon the failure of the condition.

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

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