Does divorce occur if a man swears by divorce upon his wife that she not touch him, then she touches him without her knowledge, knowing that he did not intend anything by that?
The majority view is that divorce occurs when one swears by divorce and then breaks the oath. This is the fatwa we follow. However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds that its ruling is similar to swearing by Allah, necessitating an expiation for the oath, and that divorce does not occur if the intention was to threaten or emphasize.
Based on this, the fatwa we follow is that your divorce would occur if your wife touched you. However, if her touching you was unintentional, there is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the occurrence of divorce. Some verified scholars are of the view that divorce does not occur in this situation.
Therefore, no divorce has occurred due to your wife touching you unintentionally. You should avoid swearing by divorce.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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