What happens if the husband says, 'If I do not sell my slave today, my wife is divorced today,' and the day ends without the sale?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
There are two views on this matter. If the slave is freed, or if the husband or wife dies within the day, the wife is divorced immediately because the possibility of the sale is forfeited. Similarly, if the husband enters into an agreement of manumission (*tadbir*) or writing for manumission (*mukātabah*), the wife is not divorced, as the sale remains permissible in these cases. However, one opinion states that if the prohibition of sale applies to these arrangements, the divorce occurs as if the slave died.
Supporting text
If the slave is gifted away, the divorce does not occur because the possibility of the slave returning to the husband for sale remains open. If the condition was not limited by 'today' (e.g., 'If I do not sell my slave, my wife is divorced'), and the slave enters into *mukātabah*, the divorce does not occur immediately because the possibility of the slave being unable to complete the manumission payment means the forfeiture of sale is uncertain. If the slave is manumitted subsequently, the divorce occurs then because the sale has permanently ceased.