Saying ‘If I Do Such and Such, I Pronounce Talaq on My Wife’

30-10-2025 | IslamWeb

Question:

Husband had an argument with his younger brother and he angrily said to him that if i ever see you again or talk to you,I pronounce talaq on my wife. Now i am worried what should i do as a wife.As now husband says that i said it in anger. I didn't mean it. Brothers live together in one house its not at all possible that they will be enemies forever. what to do if both brothers meet again and reconcile? Husband is not taking it seriously. Can as a wife i pay any compensation

---

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 is His slave and Messenger.

If your husband said to his brother, “If I see you again or talk to you, my wife is divorced,” then, according to the majority of scholars - including the four Imams - the divorce takes effect if he does indeed see or talk to him.

However, some scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah held that an oath of divorce does not actually result in divorce, but rather requires an expiation (Kaffārah) if the sworn condition is fulfilled. Yet, the divorce not taking effect is not conditioned upon paying the expiation - so even if the husband fails to pay it, the divorce still does not take place.

As for you paying the expiation on your husband’s behalf when the oath is broken, it is not valid unless he permits you to do so.

But if your husband said, “(If I see you again or talk to you), I will pronounce divorce,” this is merely a promise of divorce, and nothing actually occurs by it.

Allah knows best.