the conditional divorce does not take effect either.

Another view holds that neither divorce takes effect, because the unconditional divorce taking effect entails the conditional divorce taking effect, while the conditional divorce taking effect entails the unconditional divorce not taking effect. It is not permissible to follow this opinion. Ibn Surayj is free of what has been attributed to him on this matter, as Shaykh ‘Izz al-Dīn stated.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

Is the “Ibn Surayj device” valid or not? If we say that it is invalid, what of someone who followed his authority on this matter and acted upon it, then sought Allah’s forgiveness upon learning that it was invalid?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. This device is an innovation in Islam. None of the Companions, the Successors or the four imams issued a ruling endorsing it. Only a group of later scholars endorsed it, and a body of Muslim scholars rejected their position. Whoever followed someone’s authority on this matter and then repented, Allah has pardoned what is past. He need not separate from his wife, even if he had married her, provided that he was acting on what he believed to be a valid interpretation. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

A man married a woman and had a child by her. The witnesses or others advised him that, when he went in to his wife, he should say to her, “If I divorce you, you are divorced three times before that divorce.” Is that marriage contract valid or not?