Chapter: Suspending Divorce on Conditions
A conditional divorce is valid only when pronounced by the husband. Once he links the divorce to a condition, the divorce does not take effect before that condition is fulfilled, even if he adds, “I intended it to be immediate.” If he says, “My tongue slipped when I mentioned the condition—I did not mean it,” the divorce nevertheless takes effect at once. Likewise, should he declare, “You are divorced,” and then claim, “I meant: if you stand up,” the court does not accept that claim.
The conditional particles are: in (if), idhā (when), matā (whenever), ayy (whatever), man (whoever), and kullamā (every time); the last of these, standing alone, conveys repetition. All of them—as well as mahmā (whatever)—when used without lam, or where there is no intention of immediacy or a contextual clue to that effect1, imply deferment. When they appear with lam they require immediacy, except the particle in, which does not require immediacy if such an intention or clue is absent2.
Hence, if he says: “If you stand,” “when you stand,” “whenever you stand,” “at any time you stand,” “whoever stands,” or “every time you stand you are divorced,” the divorce is effected whenever the condition occurs3. If the condition is fulfilled repeatedly, the violation is counted only once, except when the wording is kullamā (“every time”), in which case it is repeated each time.
If he states, “If I do not divorce you, you are divorced,” without intending any specific time and with no contextual indication of immediacy, and he never divorces her, the divorce takes effect at the end of the life of whichever of the two dies first.
If he says, “Whenever I do not divorce you,” or “When I do not divorce you,” or “At whatever time I do not divorce you, you are divorced,” and a span of time elapses in which he could have divorced her but did not, the divorce becomes binding. Likewise, if he declares, “Every time I do not divorce you, you are divorced,” and a period4 sufficient5 to pronounce three consecutive divorces passes without his divorcing her6—