What is the ruling regarding a man who lied to his mother, claiming he threatened his wife with divorce, then lied to his wife about what he told his mother, then, in anger, told his wife: "If you speak to so-and-so, you are divorced," and does his oath take effect after the marriage contract is renewed with her?

A husband's false declaration to his mother that he has suspended his wife's divorce or threatened her with it does not constitute a divorce; it is merely a lie that has no consequence. As for the husband's statement, "If you speak to so-and-so, I will divorce you," this is a promise of divorce that does not take effect merely by uttering it. If he had conditioned the divorce on speaking to a specific person, then divorced her with one pronouncement and took her back with a new marriage contract, the condition remains. If she then speaks to that woman after the new contract, the divorce takes place. This is the view of the majority, differing from Ibn Taymiyyah, who holds that a conditional divorce does not occur if it was intended as a threat, and it can be expiated by a kafārat yamīn (expiation for breaking an oath).