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Does a divorce take effect if the event that occurred is repeated, can it be reversed, and is expiation necessary?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Most scholars hold the view that if a husband makes his wife's divorce conditional upon an event, he cannot retract it. If the condition is met, the wife is divorced, regardless of whether the husband intended to effect the divorce or merely intended to threaten, emphasize, or prevent something. Some scholars, such as Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, hold that if the husband intended to effect the divorce upon the fulfillment of the condition, he can retract the condition. However, if he did not intend to effect the divorce but merely intended to threaten, emphasize, or prevent something, then no divorce occurs, but he is obliged to pay an expiation for breaking an oath (kaffarat yameen).

Since you did not intend to effect a divorce, you cannot retract this condition. If the action upon which you conditioned the divorce occurs, the majority of scholars hold that the divorce takes place, and this is the fatwa we adopt. However, according to the view of Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, no divorce occurs, but you are obliged to pay an expiation for breaking an oath.

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

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