Does a divorce occur if the children go to visit their grandmother, after the husband swore, "If they go to your mother's, you are divorced," and is there an expiation for that, and is it permissible for them to visit their grandmother without a divorce occurring?

It is incorrect to say that divorce is not valid unless it is pronounced by an authorized official. Rather, it becomes valid the moment the husband pronounces it, and the document serves to protect rights.

The majority of scholars hold that a conditional divorce takes effect if the condition is met, regardless of whether the husband intended to bring about the divorce or something else. This is the prevailing fatwa. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, however, holds that a conditional divorce does not take effect if the husband did not intend to bring about the divorce, but rather intended to threaten or emphasize, and he is obligated to pay the expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin).

So, if the children went to your mother's house, the divorce has occurred. Your husband may take you back before the end of the waiting period (iddah), provided this divorce does not complete the three divorces. It is permissible to adopt the view of trustworthy scholars if the questioner is convinced of its correctness.

We emphasize that preventing children from visiting their grandmother is an impermissible severing of kinship ties, and swearing by divorce is forbidden in Sharia.