Is the oath broken if one speaks to a different person intending that the intended person should hear it?

Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others

Al-Mughni

Book of Divorce

Book 39 · Issue 6 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a person swears not to speak to specific person X, but speaks to person Y intending for person X to hear, like saying, 'I mean you, and listen, O neighbor,' the oath is broken. Imam Ahmad explicitly stated that if one swears not to speak to X, speaks to Y, and X hears, with the intent of speaking to X through that utterance, the oath is broken because the intent to address X was present. This is considered correct because making the intended person hear the speech achieves the purpose of addressing them, similar to direct address.

Supporting text

A narration from Abu Bakra suggests non-breaking when he swore not to speak to his brother Ziyad, and after Ziyad prepared for Hajj, Abu Bakra entered his palace, held his son, and spoke about his father's intentions for Hajj, then left without considering that he had spoken to Ziyad.