The ruling on a divorce statement conditioned upon the death of the father when the son married his father's female slave.
Chapter on Divorce by Calculation
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If a man marries his father's female slave and then says to her, 'If my father dies, you are divorced,' and the father subsequently dies, the divorce does not take place. This is the preferred view of Al-Qadi. The reasoning is that upon the father's death, the son gains ownership of the slave, and this ownership dissolves her marriage contract. Since the divorce is contingent upon an event coinciding with the dissolution of the marriage, the divorce is nullified, similar to the case where he said, 'You are divorced upon my death.'
Supporting text
Abu Al-Khattab preferred that the divorce does occur because the father's death is the cause of the son's ownership, and the divorce and dissolution of the marriage contract follow the ownership. Therefore, the divorce takes effect during the period of ownership that precedes the dissolution, establishing its ruling.