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The question

What is the ruling on uttering the words "divorce thrice if you pass in front of me" if it was unintentional and without knowing what was said, and then what was sworn upon occurred a few minutes later?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The majority of jurists hold that swearing by divorce results in divorce upon breaking the oath, and that pronouncing divorce three times counts as three divorces. However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that swearing by divorce, when not intended to make the divorce contingent but rather as a threat or emphasis, falls under the ruling of an oath by Allah. In such a case, if the oath is broken, an expiation for an oath is due, and divorce does not occur. He also holds that pronouncing divorce three times counts as a single divorce. The phrase "divorce three times" is an explicit oath of divorce. If the utterance of divorce was an unintentional mistake (a slip of the tongue), then divorce does not occur. However, if it was intended as an oath, then according to the majority of jurists, three divorces occur upon breaking the oath, whereas according to Ibn Taymiyyah, an expiation for an oath is due. The occurrence of breaking the oath depends on the swearer's intention and what he meant by his oath, as intention particularizes the general and restricts the absolute.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
135960
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy