with four opinions on the matter. The first is that a man is legally subject to sworn abstention only if he swears never to have intercourse with his wife, or leaves his oath unrestricted without specifying a fixed period; otherwise, he is not. Scholars who record juristic disagreements attribute this view to Ibn โAbbฤs: that a man is legally subject to sworn abstention only if he swears to abstain for more than four months, even by a single day. This is the position of Mฤlik and his followers.
This position has been interpreted to mean that he is not legally subject to sworn abstention unless the period exceeds four months by more than the respite he would be granted if he said, โI will resume marital relations.โ This is mistaken, because such respite is granted only when he is required to make his choice and says, โI will resume marital relations,โ but does not do so. If, however, he is required to make his choice and refuses to resume marital relations, divorce is pronounced against him immediately, and there is no reason to grant him a respite. Thus, the wife is entitled to have her husband who has sworn abstention required to make his choice, even if his oath exceeds four months [by only a single day, since he may refuse to resume marital relations, in which case divorce is pronounced against him. The third opinion is that a man is legally subject to sworn abstention if he swears to abstain for four months] or more, but not if he swears to abstain for less. This is the position of Abลซ Hanฤซfa and the scholars of Iraq. The fourth is that a man is legally subject to sworn abstention if he swears not to have intercourse, whether for a long period or a short one, and then leaves his wife for four months without intercourse. This is the opinion of Ibn Abฤซ Laylฤ and a group of scholars from Kufa.
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Sworn abstention falls into three categories: one in which the man is legally subject to it from the day he takes the oath; another in which he becomes subject to it only from the day his wife brings her case against him before the ruler and has him summoned; and a third concerning which there is disagreement, some holding that he is subject to it from the day he takes the oath, and others from the day she brings her case against him before the ruler.
The first category concerns a man who swears to refrain from intercourse. The second concerns a man who swears, on pain of divorcing his wife, that he will perform some act. The disputed third category is sworn abstention arising in connection with zihฤr. Success comes from Allah, glorified and exalted be He.