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21 / 05 / 2026
The Ruling on Swearing an Oath of Divorce and Prohibition
A man went to visit his sister and swore an oath of divorce that she would not cook anything but chicken, while she said she had prepared meat and would put the chicken with the food. He said: 'By the prohibition and divorce, we will not eat at your place unless it is chicken.' She replied: 'Before you prohibit and divorce, I swear the meat is on the fire.' She was sick with a broken leg and did not want to burden her. When he arrived, she had prepared both meat and chicken. He ate from the chicken first, then ate from the meat. What is the ruling?
Answer
I say, and with God's success: what I understood is that he does not want to obligate her to the point that she does not cook the meat, but she had cooked before he swore, and she did not cook after his oath, so the oath was not applicable; because there was no cooking after the oath. However, he must refrain from swearing by divorce altogether, as this was only legislated in a specific context, and he should fear God in this matter so that he does not deprive his wife. And God knows best.
