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Is the husband's statement to his wife: "If you stay in the house, I will divorce you," considered a divorce if she does not leave the house?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The phrase "I divorce you" (أطلقك) can denote both the present and the future. If the husband intended to make the divorce contingent on the wife remaining in the house, then if she stays, she is divorced. However, if he intended it as a threat of divorce, then it is not a divorce by scholarly consensus. If the husband does not pray and disregards what is lawful and unlawful, he should be advised and warned about Allah. If he does not repent, it is recommended for the wife to seek khul' (divorce initiated by the wife) due to his abandonment of Allah's rights. Both spouses should be reminded to avoid problems and to live together amicably.

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

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