to obtain this sum. She then brings it and says, “Take it,” whereupon she is divorced, even if there has been a delay. Thus, if she remains for a month, two months, a year, or two years and then brings it, she is divorced. The basis for this is that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Every condition not found in the Book of Allah is invalid” (1). The implication is that every condition which does not contradict the Book of Allah is valid. This man stipulated a condition, and the woman has brought what was stipulated of her and undertaken the expense; he has no right to retract it, for it was a statement that issued from his mouth while he was a sane, legally accountable adult. This is the view held by the majority of scholars.

Some scholars said that he may retract it before she accepts. For example, if he says, “If you give me one thousand, then you are divorced,” and she says, “Yes, I will give it to you,” then he may not retract it. But if he retracts before she says this, he may do so, because this resembles an exchange transaction, which requires the agreement of both parties: an offer and acceptance. Likewise, once she brings the dirhams, retraction is no longer possible.

Shaykh al-Islam chose the view that he may retract it as long as she has not handed it over to him. He said that he made the divorce contingent upon a condition and retracted it before that condition was fulfilled. It is therefore analogous to an offer to sell before acceptance: if someone offers a sale to another person and he does not accept, the contract is not concluded because acceptance has not occurred. Thus, so long as the woman has not brought the one thousand, he may cancel it. This differs from a purely conditional stipulation, which he may not cancel. For example, if he says, “If the month of Rajab begins, then you are divorced,” he has no power to cancel it, even according to the Shaykh. Thus, the Shaykh distinguishes between a divorce made contingent upon compensation and a divorce made contingent upon a purely conditional stipulation.