Husband Told His Wife If She Leaves, She Is Divorced

26-2-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamualaikum. If a woman parks her things and leave her husband's house due to a misunderstanding and the husband told her before she left that if she left she is divorced and she actually left. Please is the divorce valid?

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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.

In fact, the husband’s saying to his wife that she is divorced if she leaves the house is considered a conditional divorce; if she actually left, then divorce took place according to the view of the majority of jurists, whether he intended to initiate divorce or just intended to threaten.

However, Ibn Taymiyyah is of the view that divorce does not take place if the husband intended to just threaten, and that he is required to expiate for breaking an oath. The view we adopt here in Islamweb is the opinion of the majority of scholars.

In our view, the husband should present his case orally to one of the scholars in his country or refer to an Islamic Court.

We point out to the two following matters:

The first matter: It is not permissible for a woman to leave her home without her husband's permission except for a legitimate excuse. A mere misunderstanding does not allow her to go out without his permission.

The second matter: The spouses should be wise when a dispute occurs and beware of making divorce a means to solve problems between them.

Allah knows best.