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Īlāʾ (sworn abstention from marital intercourse) arises in three ways: first, an oath to abstain from intercourse; second, something equivalent to such an oath; and third, an oath involving divorce in which the swearer must fulfil a condition to avoid breaking it.
Section
An oath to abstain from intercourse falls into three categories. The first is to swear by Allah, or to undertake something equivalent to swearing by Allah: an obligation he imposes upon himself if he has intercourse, such as prayer, charity, or another act of devotion; divorcing a wife other than the one from whom he has sworn to abstain; or freeing a slave, whether specified or unspecified. The second is to swear an oath involving the divorce of the very wife from whom he has sworn to abstain. The third is to swear by something that entails a binding legal consequence upon breach, although the oath itself imposes no immediate obligation upon him.
If he swears by Allah, or undertakes something equivalent from among the things we have mentioned, this takes one of two forms. The first is to say: “By Allah, I shall not have intercourse with my wife [or: I undertake to give charity, to walk, or the like, if I have intercourse with her—ever, or within such-and-such a period exceeding four months].” The second is to say: “By Allah, I shall not have intercourse with her until I do such-and-such.”
In the first case, he is subject to the rules of sworn abstention from the day he takes the oath. When the prescribed period expires, he is required to decide: either he resumes intercourse, or a divorce is pronounced on his behalf.
The second case admits of two possibilities. The act he has sworn not to have intercourse until he performs is either something he can do, or something he cannot do because the Law prohibits it or because he lacks the ability.
If it is something he can do and involves no burden, he is not subject to the rules of sworn abstention. Nevertheless, he is not left unchecked, but is told: “Have intercourse with your wife, if you are truthful in claiming that you are not subject to the rules of sworn abstention.” If performing it does involve a burden, he too is subject to the rules of sworn abstention from the day he takes the oath. When the prescribed period expires, he is required to decide and is given the choice of resuming intercourse or fulfilling his oath by performing the act he swore not to have intercourse until he performed. If he refuses either course, a divorce is pronounced on his behalf. If, however, the act is something he cannot perform because the Law prohibits it or because he lacks the ability, then he