and her father refuses, or her father chooses but she does not, she is not divorced, because he made it contingent on the choice of both. Likewise, if he says, “If you choose and the judge chooses,” and she chooses but the judge does not, she is not divorced.

His statement: “ ‘You are divorced,’ or, ‘My slave is emancipated,’ if Allah wills: both take effect.” This makes it contingent upon the will of Allah, Exalted is He. The mention of emancipation is incidental. Thus, if he says, “You are divorced, if Allah wills,” does the divorce take effect or not?

Some scholars say that this is making it contingent upon something impossible, and making something contingent upon the impossible is itself impossible; therefore, the divorce never takes effect. It is impossible because we do not know Allah’s will except after what He wills has occurred. You do not know that Allah has willed something for you until it happens; before it happens, you do not know whether Allah has willed it or not.

Others say that if he says, “You are divorced, if Allah wills,” the divorce takes effect in all cases. For once he has said, “You are divorced,” we know that Allah has willed it, since a person speaks only by the will of Allah. Thus, when he says, “You are divorced, if Allah wills,” we say: Allah has willed that you be divorced. We know that Allah willed this from its occurrence—namely, from his saying, “You are divorced.” We know that when an act occurs from a servant, its necessary consequence must follow. The two views are completely opposed.

The third view is a middle position: if by saying, “If Allah wills,” he means, “If Allah wills that you be divorced by these words,” then the divorce takes effect, because we know that Allah, Exalted is He, wills a thing when its cause exists. But if by saying, “If Allah wills,” he means a divorce in the future, then it does not take effect until he pronounces the divorce again at a later time. This is the correct view.