Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/122)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

is closer to what he said, then she must not bring a claim. But if the matter is otherwise, then the previous distinction applies. For he may say, “By my words, ‘You are divorced tomorrow,’ I intended the end of the day, and I have an indicatory circumstance: I have invited people for lunch, and I do not want you to be divorced before you serve them lunch.” In short, whenever there is an indicatory circumstance supporting what he says, no claim should be brought against him.

“If you are divorced after a month,” she is divorced when it has elapsed, unless he intends immediate effect, in which case it takes effect. And if he says, “You are divorced after a year,” she is divorced after twelve months; but if he makes it definite by using the definite article, she is divorced upon the end of Dhu al-Hijjah.

His statement, “If you are divorced after a month”: the apparent meaning of the wording is that the month is the time at which the divorce takes effect. It is known that he does not intend to set an endpoint for the divorce, for divorce has no endpoint: there is no such thing as a divorce for a month, a divorce for a week, or a divorce for a day. Rather, by the endpoint he intends the beginning of the divorce. Thus, if he says, “You are divorced after a month,” the endpoint relates to its beginning—meaning that it begins after one month—not to its end. This differs from saying, “I lease you this house for a month,” where the endpoint relates to the end of the lease. The difference between the two cases is that divorce does not come to an end, and so it cannot be deferred, unlike a lease. Hence, the author said:

“She is divorced when it has elapsed.” Thus, the month is calculated from the time he speaks until a full month has passed.

If he says, “You are divorced after the month,” using the definite article, she is divorced when the month in which he spoke ends, even if only ten days remain of it. This is because, since it is not valid for the divorce to have an endpoint marking its end, the endpoint must mark its beginning.

His statement, “unless he intends immediate effect, in which case it takes effect”: if he says, “You are divorced after a month,” intending that it take effect now and continue for a month, then another month, and then forever, it takes effect.

أقرب إلى كلامه فإن الواجب أن يدين، وإن كان الأمر بالعكس يكون التفصيل السابق؛ لأنه قد يقول: أنا قصدت بقولي: أنت طالق في غد آخر النهار، وعندي قرينة هي أني داعٍ الناس على الغداء، ولا أريد أن تطلقي قبل أن تغديهم، فالحاصل على كل حال إذا وجدت قرينة تؤيد ما قال فلا يطالب. وَأَنْتِ طالِقٌ إِلَى شَهْرٍ طَلَقَتْ عِنْدَ انْقِضَائِهِ، إِلاَّ أَنْ يَنْوِيَ فِي الْحَالِ فَيَقَعُ، وَطَالِقٌ إِلَى سَنَةٍ تَطْلُقُ بِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ شَهْرَاً، فَإِنْ عَرَّفَهَا بِاللاَّمِ طَلَقَتْ بِانْسِلَاخِ ذِي الحِجَّةِ. قوله: «وأنت طالق إلى شهر» ظاهر اللفظ أن الشهر وقت للطلاق، ومن المعلوم أنه لا يريد أن يجعل للطلاق غاية؛ لأن الطلاق لا غاية له، فلا يوجد طلاق لشهر، وطلاق لأسبوع، وطلاق ليوم! لكن مراده بالغاية ابتداء الطلاق؛ فإذا قال: أنت طالق إلى شهر، فالغاية لابتدائه، أي: يبدأ بعد شهر، وليست لانتهائه، بخلاف ما لو قلت: أجرتك هذا البيت إلى شهر فالغاية للانتهاء، والفرق بين الصورتين: أن الطلاق لا ينتهي، فليس بمؤجل، بخلاف الإجارة، ولهذا قال المؤلف: «طلقت عند انقضائه» فيحسب الشهر من كلامه إلى أن يتم شهرين. وإن قال: أنت طالق إلى الشهر بـ «أل» تطلق عند انتهاء الشهر الذي تكلم فيه، ولو لم يبقَ فيه إلا عشرة أيام؛ وذلك أنه لما لم يصح أن يكون للطلاق غاية لآخره صارت الغاية لأوله. قوله: «إلا أن ينوي في الحال فيقع» إذا قال: أنت طالق إلى شهر، وقصده أن يقع الآن، وأن يستمر إلى شهر، ثم إلى شهر، ثم إلى الأبد فإنه يقع.