What is the legal effect of stating 'You are forbidden (haram) upon me' when intending divorce?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
When a husband states, 'You are forbidden (haraam) upon me' while intending divorce, it constitutes a divorce. The majority of Ahmad's companions hold this view, which is the reported position accepted by the compilers of Hadith from him. The reasoning is that the statement explicitly indicates prohibition, which can manifest as either Zihar (unlawful kinship prohibition) or divorce. Since the intent was specified as divorce, the utterance must be interpreted as divorce. This utterance is considered explicit regarding prohibition generally, but when intent specifies divorce, it takes effect as such, unlike the explicit formulation of Zihar, such as saying, 'You are like the back of my mother to me,' which is specific to Zihar.
Supporting text
A narration from Abu Abdullah Al-Naysaburi suggests that if the husband intends divorce by saying, 'You are forbidden upon me,' it results in the expiation of Zihar only. This is argued because the phrase is explicit in Zihar, and therefore, merely stating the intent to divorce does not transform it into a divorce, similar to the case of explicitly stating Zihar terminology while intending divorce.