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Fatwa CenterA conditional divorce followed by an immediate divorce
Question
I got married a year and a half ago. My husband swore that I would be divorced if I visited my mother, and I indeed visited her. He also swore that I would be divorced if I went to work, and I indeed went. This was repeated four times. So, is this divorce effected? The last time, he explicitly said to me (you are divorced). Am I divorced only once or all these oaths are considered effected divorce? Please advise. May Allaah Reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
If a man made the divorce of his wife contingent on the occurrence of something and then it happened, she is divorced according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. However, Ibn Taymiyyah 
is of the view that if the husband intended by making the divorce an oath to threaten his wife, preventing her from doing something, divorce is not effected and he has to make expiation for a broken oath.
As long as the matter on which divorce was contingent occurred three times, you are irrevocably divorced and you are not permitted to join him in marriage again unless you marry another man. Consequently, staying with him as a wife after the third time of divorce is a grave sin because you are no longer his wife. This is according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. According to the other opinion, if your husband merely intended threatening you, then he would only be obliged to expiate for a broken oath for every time he swore an oath pertaining to divorce.
But certainly this does not apply to the time when he explicitly said to you (you are divorced), because it is absolutely an effected divorce.
This divorce, according to the opinion of the majority of scholars, is not effected because you were divorced three times before this and any divorce after that is meaningless. Given the other opinion, you are only divorced once (the last time).
Generally, you are required to refer to the Sharee‘ah court in your country because it is the concerned authority to judge such issues.
Allaah Knows best.
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