What is the legal consequence if a man swears an oath to divorce his wife, or not to divorce her, and then delegates the divorce?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Oaths

Book 59 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a man swears an oath to divorce his wife or to refrain from divorcing her, and he subsequently appoints an agent (wakil) to enact the divorce, or instructs his wife, saying 'Divorce yourself' (Talliqi nafsik), or tells her 'You have the choice' (Ikhtiyari), or grants her authority over her own person (amuruki bi yadik), and she subsequently divorces herself, the oath is considered fulfilled (birr), and the oath-taker has thereby broken his oath (hanith). The juristic dispute concerning this matter remains as previously stated (though specifics of the dispute are not detailed here).