and likewise Saturday begins with its first part, and Ramadan is realized with its very first moment. But if he says, “You are divorced tomorrow,” when does the divorce take effect: after sunset on the following day, or after its dawn breaks? The apparent meaning is the latter, because the commonly understood meaning of “tomorrow” is the daytime.
Likewise, if he says, “on Saturday,” he means the daytime; thus, she is divorced at the beginning of the day, with the first appearance of dawn. And in the case of Ramadan, she is divorced at its beginning, after sunset on the last day of Sha'ban.
His statement, “If he says, ‘I intended the end of all of them,’ he is held to it religiously and his statement is accepted”: “all of them” means the day, tomorrow, Saturday, and the month.
His statement, “he is held to it religiously,” means that the matter is entrusted to his religious conscience; but judicially, his claim is not accepted. When the jurists say, “he is held to it religiously,” they mean what is between him and Allah. In litigation, however, he is held to what the apparent wording indicates.
Thus, in the first case, if he says, “You are divorced today,” and then says, “I intended the end of the day,” if the woman brings a claim against him, divorce is ruled to have taken effect from the moment he uttered it. But if she does not bring a claim against him, he is held to his statement religiously. The same applies if he says, “You are divorced tomorrow,” and says, “I intended the end of the day”: we say that if she brings a claim against him, we rule that the divorce takes effect from the beginning of the day; but if she does not bring a claim, he is held to it religiously. The same applies to Saturday and Ramadan.
But is it better for her to bring a claim against him, or to hold him to his religious conscience? We stated previously: if the man is religious, trustworthy, and upright, then she must not bring a claim; whereas if the case is otherwise, then she must bring a claim.
Likewise, the apparent meaning of the wording should be considered. If the apparent meaning of the wording