What is the ruling on one who swore an oath of divorce upon his wife—with the intention of threatening her—that if she made tea for a specific woman, then his wife made tea for that woman out of forgetfulness? Is this oath perpetually binding? And is expiation (kaffarah) sufficient to annul it?
Scholars have differed concerning one who makes a divorce conditional upon an event, and that event occurs. The majority of scholars hold that the divorce takes effect if the condition is met, and this is the more preponderant opinion.
However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah chose the view that the divorce does not take effect if the swearer did not intend for it to occur, but rather intended to deter, prevent, or encourage, in which case an expiation for an oath (kaffarat ) becomes binding upon him.
If no intention is present or cannot be ascertained, one should refer to the reason for the oath. If the reason ceases to exist, then the breach of the oath ceases.
If the wife performs the action sworn against out of forgetfulness, the divorce does not take effect according to the majority of jurists, provided the oath was not explicitly about divorce or manumission.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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