or pronounced it to take effect. This is the position transmitted from Ahmad.

Another view is that if he uses it as an oath, expiation for an oath suffices; but if he pronounces it to take effect, he must offer the expiation for zihār. This view is stronger and more consistent with the legal principles of Ahmad and others.

Thus, expiation for an oath suffices for someone who swears by declaring something forbidden, just as it suffices for someone who makes an oath in the form of a vow, saying: “If I do such-and-such, I must perform Hajj,” or, “My wealth must be given in charity.” Likewise, if he swears an oath involving manumission, he must offer expiation for an oath according to most of the early scholars among the Companions and Successors. Expiation for an oath also suffices for an oath involving divorce, as a number of earlier and later scholars have ruled. What is authentically reported from the Companions does not contradict this; rather, its meaning accords with it. Every oath that Muslims swear is subject to expiation for an oath, as indicated by the Quran and Sunnah.

If, however, a man intends to effect a divorce, manumission or zihār, he is bound by what he pronounces, whether he makes it effective immediately or conditional. Expiation for an oath does not suffice in that case. Allah knows best what is correct.