Does the husband's statement "She is triply divorced if she enters her family's house" count as a divorce, or is there an expiation for it?
A previous fatwa mentioned that the word "talaq" (divorce) alone, without being attributed to the wife, is a matter of scholarly disagreement. Some scholars view it as a kinayah (allusion) by which divorce does not occur except with intention, while others consider it an explicit, conditional divorce. Based on this, if you say, "Divorced by three if you enter your parents' house," and then she enters: according to the view of kinayah, nothing is binding upon you if you did not intend divorce, otherwise, three divorces occur. However, according to the view of explicit divorce, three divorces occur, and your wife becomes unlawful to you. The occurrence of a triple conditional divorce upon the fulfillment of the condition is the view of the majority of scholars. However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds that an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin) is required if you did not intend divorce, and a single divorce if you did intend it. As long as you have not entered your wife's parents' house, there is no breach on your part. You cannot retract a conditional divorce according to the majority of scholars, whereas Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah believes that you can retract it if you intended divorce and not an oath.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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