The Talaq of an Unmarried Man Does Not Take Effect

Question

A man is in the habit of swearing oaths. He swore: “If I utter such-and-such a word with my tongue, then my wife is divorced (talaq),” and in his mind he intended (niyya) until the evening; and the next day he uttered that word with his tongue. Then, some days later, he swore: “I did not do such-and-such a thing; if I did, then my wife is divorced.” Then, some days later, he swore this same oath again, and there is a predominant assumption — indeed certainty — that he did not do that thing.

Answer

Since at the time of swearing there was no woman in his nikah, no talaq whatsoever has occurred for his wife from the repeated swearing of the oaths mentioned in the question, because at that time his wife does not exist at all; when he contracts nikah, then his wife will come, and the oath and the talaq have no connection with her.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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