a discerning child, divorce pronounced by a father on behalf of his son, and divorce pronounced by an arbitrator from the husband’s family without the husband’s authorization. They likewise disagreed over offering the compensatory payment without the wife’s authorization, and over other questions familiar to scholars.

They also disagreed over questions of “making divorce conditional” and “oaths invoking divorce, emancipation, zihār (likening one’s wife to a forbidden female relative), declarations of prohibition, and vows,” such as saying: “If I do such-and-such, I must perform Hajj, fast for a month, or give one thousand in charity.” They also disagreed over many questions concerning “oaths” generally and the obligations they entail.

This includes their disagreement over making divorce conditional upon marriage: does the divorce take effect or not? Or should a distinction be drawn between a general declaration and a specific one? Or between cases involving a purpose recognized by Islamic law and cases involving a form of ownership or something not owned?

They held three views concerning divorce made conditional after marriage. One view is that it takes effect in all cases; another is that it does not take effect; and a third distinguishes between a condition upon whose occurrence divorce is intended and a condition whose occurrence is unwanted, with divorce likewise unintended if it occurs.

“The first” is exemplified by his saying: “If you give me one thousand, you are divorced.” “The second” is exemplified by his saying: “If I do such-and-such, my slaves are free, my wives are divorced, and I must perform Hajj.”

As for a conditional vow, they agreed that it is binding when the person wishes the condition to occur, as when he says: “If Allah heals my sick relative or safeguards my property that is elsewhere, I must fast for a month or give one hundred in charity.” They disagreed, however, over the case in which he does not wish the condition to occur, but rather wishes to prevent it, using the vow as an oath—as when he says: “I shall not travel, and if I do travel,