What is the ruling if a husband says to his wife, 'You are divorced today, if I do not divorce you today,' and he does not divorce her?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If the remaining time of the day is insufficient for him to pronounce the divorce, the divorce takes effect at the last possible moment within that day. This is the chosen opinion of Abu al-Khattab and the position held by the companions of Al-Shafi'i. The rationale is that the expiration of the day forfeits the possibility of his intended divorce for that day, necessitating its occurrence before that forfeiture, similar to the case where one of them dies within the day. The meaning of the oath is interpreted as: If it becomes impossible for me to divorce you today, then you are divorced within it.
Supporting text
A dissenting view, narrated from Abu Bakr and Ibn Surayj, holds that the divorce does not occur because the time (today) in which the divorce condition is to be met expires before the divorce can take place, leaving no valid time frame for its occurrence.