— the single word “divorce” alone. Moreover, he intended by his statement to claim that he had sworn an oath of divorce and that, by virtue of that supposed divorce, she had already become forbidden to him, even though he had never taken such an oath at all; his only aim was to frighten her. What, then, is incumbent upon him now so that he may continue living with his wife?
Answer: The expressions he uttered are phrases of ẓihār. When a man likens his wife to a woman who is permanently forbidden to him—such as his mother or his sister—intending thereby that she become forbidden to him just as his mother or sister is, he thereby becomes a muẓāhir (one who has pronounced ẓihār). Allah, exalted is He, has clarified the ruling for the muẓāhir in His words:
“Those among you who declare ẓihār concerning their wives and then go back on what they have said must free a slave before the two of them touch each other. That is what you are admonished with, and Allah is All-Aware of what you do. But whoever does not find the means must fast two consecutive months before they touch each other; and whoever is unable must feed sixty needy people.” (al-Mujādilah 58:3–4)
Therefore, on the basis of what he has reported, the questioner must offer the expiation for ẓihār before he has any conjugal contact with his wife: either by emancipating a slave, if he is able; if he cannot, then by fasting two consecutive months; and if he is incapable of fasting because of a chronic illness or any other excuse that prevents him from fasting, he must feed sixty needy people, giving each needy person half a ṣāʿ of wheat or an equivalent staple. Let him know that these three acts are to be performed in the stated order: he may not move on from freeing a slave unless he is unable to do so, and he may not move on from fasting unless he is unable to do that. This obligation rests upon his conscience, and it is unlawful for him to approach his wife until he has discharged the expiation that Allah, exalted is He, has prescribed.
Furthermore, a Muslim must safeguard his tongue from expressions of ẓihār, divorce, and the like, for such utterances, as Allah, exalted is He, has said, are “an objectionable statement and a falsehood” (al-Mujādilah 58:2). Thus ẓihār is reprehensible, forbidden, and false; it is impermissible for a person to pronounce it. Yet if such a thing does occur