He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about a man whose wife went out without his permission. He then said to her:

“I shall be bound to divorce you three times: I shall no longer spare you the rod.”

He intended this to apply if she went out without his permission. Does the divorce take effect immediately, or only if she goes out without his permission? And what if he gives her permission afterwards?

He replied:

No divorce takes effect immediately. Rather, if she goes out without his permission, he breaks his oath. He may give her general permission, provided that neither his intention nor the circumstances that prompted the oath entail otherwise. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was also asked about a man who accused his wife of stealing some dirhams. She said:

“By Allah, I have taken nothing.”

He then said:

“I shall be bound to divorce you three times unless you produce the dirhams.”

Does she remain his wife?

He replied:

If it becomes clear that she did not take the dirhams, he has not broken his oath, according to the sounder of the two scholarly opinions. This is because what the oath requires is impossible, and because he only intended her to return them if she had taken them. Allah knows best.