Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If someone says, “If I do such-and-such action, my future wife will be divorced thrice,” and then he performs that action — will three divorces take effect upon that woman after marriage?
A conditional divorce (ṭalāq muʿallaq) only becomes effective if the marriage was already in place at the time of setting the condition.
➤ As long as the woman is not yet in nikāḥ, divorce cannot be suspended upon her through a condition.
➤ Therefore, in this scenario, no divorce will be enacted after marriage.
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لَا طَلَاقَ فِيمَا لَا يَمْلِكُ، وَلَا عِتْقَ فِيمَا لَا يَمْلِكُ
Translation:
"There is no divorce for that which a person does not own, and no emancipation for that which he does not own."
Musnad Aḥmad: 2/189, 207
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2190
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1181
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2047
Chain of narration is ḥasan (reliable).
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd: Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Ibn al-Mulaqqin: Ṣaḥīḥ
Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 12/204–205
Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Ḥadīth: 1184
➤ Divorce cannot be made conditional on a future wife before the marriage exists.
➤ Such a conditional statement is void in Sharīʿah and carries no legal effect.
➤ This is based on clear prophetic guidance that one cannot issue divorce over something not yet owned, such as a non-existent or future marriage.
❖ Question:
If someone says, “If I do such-and-such action, my future wife will be divorced thrice,” and then he performs that action — will three divorces take effect upon that woman after marriage?
✿ Answer:
A conditional divorce (ṭalāq muʿallaq) only becomes effective if the marriage was already in place at the time of setting the condition.
➤ As long as the woman is not yet in nikāḥ, divorce cannot be suspended upon her through a condition.
➤ Therefore, in this scenario, no divorce will be enacted after marriage.
✦ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لَا طَلَاقَ فِيمَا لَا يَمْلِكُ، وَلَا عِتْقَ فِيمَا لَا يَمْلِكُ
Translation:
"There is no divorce for that which a person does not own, and no emancipation for that which he does not own."
Musnad Aḥmad: 2/189, 207 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2190 Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1181 Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2047 Chain of narration is ḥasan (reliable).✦ Authentication by Scholars:
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd: Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Ibn al-Mulaqqin: Ṣaḥīḥ
Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 12/204–205 Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Ḥadīth: 1184
Summary:
➤ Divorce cannot be made conditional on a future wife before the marriage exists.
➤ Such a conditional statement is void in Sharīʿah and carries no legal effect.
➤ This is based on clear prophetic guidance that one cannot issue divorce over something not yet owned, such as a non-existent or future marriage.
