and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Whoever swears an oath and says, ‘If Allah wills,’ may act if he wishes or refrain if he wishes.”

Whatever falls within the scope of the Prophet’s words (peace and blessings be upon him) also falls within the scope of Allah Most High’s words. Divorce and emancipation pronounced with immediate effect do not fall under the terms ‘oath’ or ‘swearing,’ by scholarly consensus. This is unlike swearing to urge or deter someone, or to affirm or deny something, which constitutes an oath by agreement of the imams.

As for a purely conditional pronouncement, such as saying, “If the sun rises, you are divorced,” they hold two well-known positions. According to al-Shāfiʿī and one of the two positions among Ahmad’s followers, it is not an oath; this was the position preferred by al-Qādī Abū Yaʿlā. According to Abū Hanīfa and the other position among Ahmad’s followers, it is an oath; this was the position preferred by Abū al-Khattāb.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better should do what is better and expiate his oath.”

This is a general statement, implying that this applies to every oath. Whatever does not admit of this, therefore, is not an oath.

The purpose here is to establish precisely what has been transmitted from the early generations and the imams on this issue. The evidence will be discussed later, if Allah Most High wills. Al-Bukhārī related in his Sahīh that Ibn ʿAbbās said:

“There is no divorce except out of a desire for it, and no emancipation except that by which one seeks the Face of