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Is the wife still under the husband's authority and responsibility? What is the ruling on situations in which the husband utters a conditional divorce or an allusion to it, or when he hesitates about whether a divorce has occurred or not due to obsessive-compulsive disorder?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A divorce pronounced by a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (waswas) due to the overwhelming nature of these obsessions does not take effect. Similarly, if the husband doubts whether he uttered the divorce, it does not take effect, because the default state is the continuation of the marriage.

Scholars have issued fatwas (religious rulings) stating that such a divorce does not occur. Therefore, it is obligatory to disregard doubts and obsessions and to consult a psychiatrist.

Furthermore, the husband must not permit his wife to go out for work that involves unlawful mixing with men, because he is her guardian (qawwam) and responsible for her.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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