And if he takes a knowingly false oath by committing himself to a consequence—as in the case raised by the questioner—such as saying, “What is lawful is forbidden to me: I did not do such-and-such,” or, “Divorce is binding upon me: I did not do such-and-such,” or, “If I have done such-and-such, my wealth is pledged in charity,” or, “I am bound to perform Hajj,” or, “My wives are divorced,” or, “My slaves are free,” then there are two views.

According to one view, these consequences become binding upon him if we hold that no expiation is prescribed for a knowingly false oath, even if we hold that such oaths admit of expiation when they concern the future. Otherwise, these oaths would entail neither expiation nor fulfillment of the commitment he undertook. This is the view preferred by my grandfather, Abū al-Barakāt. Likewise, Muhammad ibn Muqātil al-Rāzī said: “Whoever takes a knowingly false oath staking his faith upon its truth must make expiation.”

The second view is that this is like a knowingly false oath sworn by Allah: it is a major sin, but the vow, divorce, or prohibition of what is lawful to which he committed himself does not become binding. This is the more correct of the two views. According to this view, no vow, divorce, emancipation, or prohibition of what is lawful becomes binding upon someone who did not intend that consequence, whether the oath is binding, knowingly false, or unintentional. Divorce, emancipation, and vows become binding only upon someone who intends them.

Making something conditional is of two kinds. In one kind, the intention is that the stipulated consequence should take effect when the condition is fulfilled. Such a conditional commitment is binding. Thus, if someone makes a vow, divorce, or emancipation conditional in this manner, it becomes binding upon him.

For example, if he says to his wife, “When you have purified yourself after menstruation, you are divorced,” or, “When your pregnancy becomes apparent, you are divorced,” the divorce takes effect when the specified condition is fulfilled. The same applies if he makes it conditional upon the appearance of the new moon. Likewise, if he forbids her to do something and says, “If you do it, you are divorced,” intending to divorce her if she does it, then the divorce takes effect. The same applies to similar cases.