Does a divorce take effect if the husband says, "If I touch her, she will be forbidden to me," before consummation, and what are the resulting religious rulings if she is touched after this statement?

Scholars differ on the ruling concerning a man who says to his wife: "You are unlawful to me" (أنت عليّ حرام), with several opinions. The most apparent of these—and Allah knows best—is that if he did not intend anything specific, then an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yameen) becomes incumbent upon him. This is the view of Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i, and it is supported by what is narrated in Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that if a man makes his wife unlawful, it is an oath for which he must offer expiation.

However, if he intended divorce, or ẓihār, or an oath, then the ruling is according to what he intended:

- If he intended divorce: It constitutes an irrevocable divorce (ṭalāq bā’in) if it was before consummation, and she can only return to him with a new marriage contract and a new mahr. If it was after consummation or a valid private seclusion (khalwa ṣaḥīḥa), then it constitutes a revocable divorce (ṭalāq raj’i).

- If he intended ẓihār: He is liable for the expiation of ẓihār, which is the freeing of a slave. If he cannot find one, then it is fasting for two consecutive months. If he is unable to do that, then it is feeding sixty needy persons.

One must be cautious about being lenient with such words, which could end the marital relationship.