Husband
jokingly says to his wife: "You are divorced!"
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this fatwa to: www.fatwa-online.com, thankyou!*
Question:
If a husband jokingly says to his wife: "You are divorced!",
is she (thereby) divorced?
Response:
Whoever jokingly divorces, then his divorce is applicable
so long as he intended a divorce. And if he was joking with
his wife and said to her: "You are divorced!", then,
by that, she is divorced.
Indeed
joking around in issues of divorce, nikaah
and freeing a slave is a serious matter.
So
whoever undertakes the contract of nikaah
and (then) says: "I was (only) joking", then this
statement of his is not acceptable, because he undertook the
contract (of nikaah)
out of his own will, and (thereby) the marriage is confirmed.
And
likewise, whoever jokingly divorces, then his divorce is applicable
so long as he intended a divorce. And if he was joking with
his wife and said to her: "You are divorced!", then,
by that, she is divorced.
Therefore,
we are of the opinion that it is upon a person to beware of
these issues and not to play around with divorce.
Shaykh
Ibn 'Uthaymeen
'Ishratun-Nisaa wa Hill al-Khilaafaat az-Zowjiyyah - Page
201
Fataawa Noorun 'alad-Darb - Volume 2, Page 117
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