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Does divorce occur if a man says to his wife, "You were married," without intending divorce, or if he doubts whether he uttered words of divorce, or if he read the word "divorced" in the news? And is a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder not bound by divorce even if he utters it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Divorce does not occur based on what you mentioned in your question, because you are afflicted with waswas (obsessive whispering). The divorce of someone afflicted with waswas does not take effect, even if he utters its لفظ (wording), unless he intends and wills it in a state of tranquility and stability. This is supported by the statement of Imam Al-Shafi'i: "And whoever's intellect is overcome by a congenital defect, or a sudden illness that he was not responsible for bringing upon himself through disobedience, is not bound by divorce, nor prayer, nor hudud (prescribed punishments). This is like the imbecile, the insane, the muwaswis (one afflicted with waswas), the delirious, and every person suffering from an illness that overcomes his intellect, as long as his intellect is overcome." The muwaswis's self-talk about divorce, his doubt about uttering it, and his saying: "I was married" does not result in divorce. Ibn Uthaymeen mentioned that the divorce of the muwaswis does not take effect, due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Indeed, Allah has pardoned for my Ummah (nation) what they whisper to themselves, as long as they do not act upon it or speak of it."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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