Ruling on divorce when one vows not to continue his relationship with his wife

14-1-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Selemu aleikum, a friend of mine argued with his wife and vowed not to continue the relationship, but at that moment he had no intention of divorcing and did not think about divorce. Now he has weswes and doesn't remember that moment in detail. Has he divorced?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

Divorce does not take effect on account of the husband’s vow not to retain his relationship with his wife, even if he intended to issue divorce. A vow is a promise to do the vowed act in the future. Ibn Al-Jawzi may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Ghareeb Al-Hadeeth: “The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) forbade, making a vow, which, in essence, is a promise that is conditioned on the occurrence of something, and therefore, every vow-maker has made a promise (to do the vowed act when that condition is fulfilled) …”

Divorce does not take effect by a mere promise. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Majmoo’ Al-Fatawa: “A promise of divorce does not make divorce effective, even if it is issued using many expressions, and it is neither obligatory nor desirable to fulfill such a promise.”

Accordingly, divorce did not take effect on account of these words uttered by the husband, and he is not liable for anything regarding this vow. Ibn Qudamah may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Al-Mughni:

“The fifth category: a vow to make a permissible act, such as vowing to wear certain clothes, riding a mount, or divorcing one’s wife in a lawful manner … In this case, the vow-maker has the choice to fulfill his vow or pay the expiation for breaking his vow (oath).

It is noteworthy that another opinion suggested that no expiation is required in this case … Malik and Ash-Shafi‘i may Allaah have mercy upon them said that such vow is not binding because the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: ‘There is no vow except in an act which seeks the pleasure of Allah, The Exalted.”

If the explicit divorce is not entailed by the vow, how about the inexplicit one, assuming that your friend’s words constitute a metaphor of divorce?

Hence, this husband is advised to disregard these whisperings and pay no attention to them.

Allah knows best.

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