the Quran according to the ruling of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, for in that era they regarded a man’s saying to his wife, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” as a divorce. But the Sacred Law differed from them in this and made it ẓihār. Thus, if a person uses the explicit wording of ẓihār, it is ẓihār, even if he intends divorce by it. We say: Your wife remains married to you, and do not approach her until you have done what Allah has commanded you regarding the expiation.

Do we say that this does not apply when he uses it in the sense of an oath—for example, if he says, “If I do such-and-such, then my wife is to me like my mother’s back”? The answer is: Yes. According to the stronger view, it may be treated as an oath; that is, he intended to restrain himself and did not intend to forbid his wife to himself or make her like his mother’s back, in view of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Actions are only by intentions, and every person shall have only what he intended.” (1)

However, his saying, “You are forbidden to me,” is not equivalent to saying, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” because we have a text in the Quran. Allah Most High says:

“O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you?” [al-Taḥrīm 66:1]

Then He says:

“Allah has already ordained for you the expiation of your oaths.” [al-Taḥrīm 66:2]

Thus Allah has made prohibition an oath, and excluding one’s wife from this generality requires evidence—and there is no evidence.

Therefore, according to the madhhab, they treat a person’s saying, “You are forbidden to me,” as equivalent to his saying, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” and deem it ẓihār in every case, even if he intends divorce by it. Thus, if a man comes seeking a legal ruling and says, “I told my wife, ‘You are forbidden to me,’” then according to the madhhab we do not ask, “What did you intend?” Rather, we say: You have pronounced ẓihār, so do not approach her until you have done what Allah has commanded you. But according to the correct view, we ask: What did you intend?

His statement, “Likewise, whatever Allah has made lawful for me is forbidden”: “whatever” is the subject, and its predicate