is, in its general meaning, apparently agreed upon. This is the view of the majority, and it is the correct view.

Know that making divorce conditional upon conditions falls into three categories:

The first is where it is a purely conditional statement; divorce then takes effect in every case.

The second is where it is purely an oath; divorce does not take effect, but an expiation for an oath is due.

The third is where it could be understood either as a purely conditional statement or as a purely oath-like statement. In this case, reference is made to the intention of the one who made the divorce conditional.

This is the correct view on this issue, as required by the evidence, and it was the position chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him. As for the established school of jurisprudence, its scholars treat making divorce conditional upon conditions as a purely conditional statement, without distinction.

An example of a purely conditional statement is for a man to say, “If the sun sets, then you are divorced.” Once it sets, she is divorced, because he made it contingent upon a purely conditional event.

An example of a purely oath-like statement is for him to say, “If I speak to Zayd, then my wife is divorced,” intending thereby to refrain from speaking to Zayd. This is a purely oath-like statement, because there is no connection between his speaking to Zayd and divorcing his wife.