Wednesday, 29 April 2026 (12 Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1447 AH)
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(Giving the Wife a Choice Between Divorce and Something Else)

Question: A man said to his wife, “If you leave the house, I will break your leg—or you are divorced,” giving a choice between breaking her leg or divorce. What is the ruling?

The answer—and Allah is the One who grants success: What appears to me—and Allah knows best—is that divorce does not take effect, because the optioning (takhyīr) has corrupted the divorce. The clarification is that divorce here is doubtful due to the optioning, while the marriage is certain; the certain is not set aside by the doubtful. The scholars of the madhhab have stated that if a man says to his wife, “You are divorced—or not,” divorce does not occur; rather, the divorce is nullified, as in Sharḥ al-Azhār.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1