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

About a man who said to his former wife, whom he had irrevocably divorced, “If I take you back, you will be like my mother and sister”: may he take her back, and what is required of him?

He answered:

According to one of the two scholarly views, he must offer the expiation for zihār if he takes her back; according to the other, nothing is required of him. The first view is more cautious.

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

About a man who, in anger, said to his wife, “You are as forbidden to me as my mother.”

He answered:

This man has pronounced zihār against his wife and falls under Allah’s words:

“Those of you who declare their wives as unlawful to them as their mothers—their wives are not their mothers. Their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. They certainly utter an objectionable statement and a falsehood. Yet Allah is indeed Pardoning, Forgiving.”

“Those who declare their wives as unlawful to them as their mothers, then go back on what they have said, must free a slave before the two touch one another. This is what you are admonished to do, and Allah is All-Aware of what you do.”

“But whoever cannot find a slave must fast for two consecutive months before the two touch one another. Whoever is unable to do so must feed sixty needy people.”

Thus, if this man wishes to keep his wife and have intercourse with her, he must not approach her until he has offered the expiation Allah has specified.