to have intercourse with his wife because of that oath unless he violates it—such a man is considered to have made ilāʾ so long as his oath covers a period of more than four months and is of a kind that can be broken only by marital relations.
Every binding oath that a Muslim is obliged to fulfill—such as an oath of manumission, divorce, or charitable donation—if taken with the wording, “I will not have intercourse with my wife,” renders its taker one who has carried out ilāʾ.
By contrast, any oath that prevents intercourse in some circumstances yet allows it in others does not constitute ilāʾ. The same applies to someone who swears, while living with his wife, not to have intercourse with her in a particular house: should the wife bring the matter before a judge, the judge must order the husband either to leave that house or to resume marital relations, thereby breaking his oath and paying the expiation; he is not to be left in a state of withholding intimacy from her. If, however, he swears that he will not have intercourse with her anywhere in his entire town or city, he is deemed to have made ilāʾ.
Whoever undertakes ilāʾ by means of an indirect or euphemistic phrase that nevertheless precludes intercourse is treated as a performer of ilāʾ, provided that preventing intercourse was indeed his intent.
If a man swears that he will not approach his wife for a period that reaches four months—even by a single extra day—or for any longer period, or if he swears an unrestricted oath without specifying a term, he is considered to have made ilāʾ, and the legal consequences of ilāʾ apply to him whenever his wife presses her claim. But if the term he stipulates is less than four months, he is not treated as having performed ilāʾ, even though, linguistically, he has sworn an oath; should he nonetheless have intercourse with her before the end of that term, he breaks his oath and must offer its expiation.
This is the ruling for a free man. As for a slave, the period for his ilāʾ is two months, whether his wife is free or a slave. Ilāʾ may be pronounced against any wife—free or slave, Muslim or dhimmī—but it is not applicable to female slaves (concubines).
If a husband swears not to have intercourse with his wife for more than four months and the four months elapse without the wife lodging a complaint or taking him before the ruler to compel him, then, according to Mālik, his followers, and most jurists of Medina, nothing becomes binding upon him. Some Medinan scholars, however, say that once the four months expire one revocable divorce automatically takes effect, while others—both from Medina and beyond—maintain that he is liable