Beyond this, you should know that the Muslim community has divided into three groups regarding whether divorce and manumission fall within the scope of the hadith concerning qualification by saying, “If Allah wills.”
One group held that divorce and manumission themselves fall within its scope. Thus, even if a man were to say, “You are divorced, if Allah wills,” or, “You are free, if Allah wills,” this would fall within the general wording of the hadith. This is the position of Abū Hanīfa, al-Shāfiʿī, and others.
Another group held that neither divorce nor manumission falls within its scope—whether they are directly effected or used as the basis of an oath, and whether this is expressed in conditional form or in the form of an oath. This is the better-known of the two positions in the Mālikī school and one of the two reports from Ahmad.
The third position is that directly effecting divorce or manumission does not fall within its scope, whereas swearing an oath by means of divorce or manumission does. This is the second report from Ahmad. Some of his followers said that if the oath is expressed in the form of an oath, it falls within the hadith and the qualification by saying, “If Allah wills,” is effective according to the sole report on the matter; but if it is expressed in conditional form, there are two reports.
This third position is correct, and its substance has been transmitted from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the majority of the Successors. Ibn ʿAbbās and most of the Successors—such as Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib and al-Hasan—did not recognize the qualification in divorce and did not regard divorce as an oath.
We have also related that the Companions and the majority of the Successors regarded swearing by charity, a sacrificial offering, emancipation, and the like as an oath that may be discharged by expiation. This is the meaning of Ahmad’s statement in more than one place: “There is no qualification in divorce or manumission; neither is an oath.”
He also said, “I do not uphold the proviso in divorce.” This is because divorce and manumission are two operative expressions that take effect.