Does divorce occur when a husband imagines divorcing his wife and utters it during an argument with her?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Divorce does not occur unless the husband intends to utter it, either with an explicit phrase or an implicit one coupled with the intention of effecting it. What you mentioned indicates no intention to utter the divorce, but rather it slipped from your tongue in a manner resembling delirium, and therefore, no divorce occurs through it. Even if we were to assume you intended to utter it and it was not delirium, your statement: "at that time, I will tell her 'you are divorced'" is a promise of divorce, and a promise of divorce does not obligate anything. So, in any case, divorce has not occurred based on what you mentioned.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/121783
Where this answer came from
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 121783
- 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.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy