He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about a man who had been compelled to divorce his wife.

He answered:

If he was wrongfully compelled to divorce her, the divorce does not take effect according to the great majority of scholars, including Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad, and others. This is also the position transmitted from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—such as ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb and others.

If, when he pronounced the divorce, he was surrounded by people known to be hostile towards him or to beat him, and he was unable at that time to defend himself against them, his claim that they compelled him to divorce is accepted.

If the witnesses to the divorce testify to those circumstances and he claims coercion, his statement is accepted. There is disagreement over whether he must be made to swear an oath.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about a man who had been seized, beaten, imprisoned, and forced to divorce his wife. He pronounced a single divorce, and she left while pregnant by him.