Chapter on the Oath of Abstention (īlāʾ)

Whoever swears by Allah Almighty—or by one of His attributes—that he will forgo vaginal intercourse with his wife forever, or for more than four months,(1) or until Jesus descends, or until she drinks(2) wine, or until she gives him her wealth or something of that sort,(3) is deemed a muʾlin, even if he is a discerning minor, angry, intoxicated, or afflicted with an illness from which recovery is expected. The ruling does not apply to a man whose organ has been completely severed, to one who is incurably impotent, or the like.(4)

When four months have elapsed from the time of the oath and he has still not had intercourse with her, he is ordered to divorce her; if he refuses, a judge(5) pronounces one or more divorces on his behalf, or annuls the marriage altogether. The same ruling applies to anyone who withholds intercourse merely to harm his wife without a valid excuse,(6) and if he claims that the period has not yet expired or that he has already had intercourse with a non-virgin, he is believed upon his own oath.

Chapter on Ẓihār

Ẓihār is forbidden, just like īlāʾ. Whoever likens his wife—or any part of her—to someone who is permanently forbidden to him, or forbidden to him for a fixed term,(7) for example by saying, “You are to me like the back or belly of my mother,”(8) or “like the back of my foster sister,” or the like, has committed ẓihār.