Does a divorce take effect if a man says to his absent wife, "If you hear these words of mine, then you are divorced," via a voice recording, and his wife later listens to it?
The majority of jurists hold that a conditional divorce takes effect upon the occurrence of the condition, regardless of whether the husband intended divorce or merely a threat. It is not a condition for the divorce to occur that the wife be present. Therefore, if the wife hears the husband's recorded voice, on which he conditioned her divorce, then she becomes divorced. If this is the first or second divorce, the husband may take her back before the expiration of her waiting period (iddah). If it is the third divorce, then she is irrevocably divorced from him (baynunah kubra) and is not lawful for him unless she marries another man in a marriage of desire, and then he divorces her or dies, and her iddah ends. It must be noted that spying is forbidden except in specific circumstances.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/121115