“If I marry before so-and-so, then all the women of the world are divorced for me”

Question

Question: If someone swears thus: “If I marry before so-and-so, then for me all the women of the whole world are divorced”, and if, God forbid, the person on whom he made his marriage conditional dies before marrying, will it be permissible for him to marry or not?

Answer

In the case asked, at the time of saying the said words the speaker has no woman in his marriage. If someone does have a woman in his marriage and he says, “All the women of the people of the world are divorced,” even then talaq will not take effect on his wife, unless he intends her: [ar]ولو قال: نساء أهل الدنيا…[/ar] “And if he said, ‘The women of the people of the world…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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