❖ Does Divorce Occur If Medication Is Given Without the Husband’s Knowledge? ❖
Source: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ Ahl al-Ḥadīth – Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1
Respected Mufti,
My friend is a psychiatric patient under treatment. He refuses to accept his illness and strongly opposes taking medication. As per the doctor’s advice, medicine is secretly mixed into his tea or other drinks because if not administered, his condition worsens, and he becomes violent toward family members.
Recently, he became suspicious and threatened, saying:
“If anyone gives me medicine without my knowledge, my wife is divorced.”
Later, his sister mixed the medicine into his tea without his knowledge.
Now the question is:
Has divorce occurred in this case? If so, what is the solution, considering that withholding the medicine would worsen his illness?
This issue is disputed among scholars.
Most scholars hold the view that:
✔ Divorce has occurred, because the husband made his wife’s divorce conditional upon a specific event (i.e., being given medicine unknowingly).
✔ Once the condition is fulfilled, the divorce becomes effective.
Reference: al-Mughnī, 7/372
If the statement of divorce is in the form of an oath (qasam), and the intention is not to actually divorce, but rather to:
This is also the view of:
✔ Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله
✔ Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله
The ruling depends on the man’s intention:
➊ If he genuinely intended to issue a divorce upon that condition being fulfilled, then divorce has taken place.
➋ If his intention was not divorce, but rather to threaten, warn, or control behavior, and he did not truly mean to divorce his wife,
then no divorce occurs — only kaffārah for breaking an oath is due.
The husband should:
This situation is increasingly common:
People issue multiple divorces but continue to live as husband and wife — this renders the relationship unlawful, and any children born afterward may be considered illegitimate in Islamic law.
It is safer and more responsible to keep one's tongue away from divorce-related oaths.
والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ Ahl al-Ḥadīth – Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1
❖ Question:
Respected Mufti,
My friend is a psychiatric patient under treatment. He refuses to accept his illness and strongly opposes taking medication. As per the doctor’s advice, medicine is secretly mixed into his tea or other drinks because if not administered, his condition worsens, and he becomes violent toward family members.
Recently, he became suspicious and threatened, saying:
“If anyone gives me medicine without my knowledge, my wife is divorced.”
Later, his sister mixed the medicine into his tea without his knowledge.
Now the question is:
Has divorce occurred in this case? If so, what is the solution, considering that withholding the medicine would worsen his illness?
❖ Answer:
This issue is disputed among scholars.
① Opinion of the Majority:
Most scholars hold the view that:
✔ Divorce has occurred, because the husband made his wife’s divorce conditional upon a specific event (i.e., being given medicine unknowingly).
✔ Once the condition is fulfilled, the divorce becomes effective.
Reference: al-Mughnī, 7/372
② View of Some Scholars (Including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah):
If the statement of divorce is in the form of an oath (qasam), and the intention is not to actually divorce, but rather to:
- Stop someone from doing something,
- Or encourage someone to act a certain way,
Then no divorce occurs, and only expiation for breaking an oath (kaffārah) is required.
This is also the view of:
✔ Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله
✔ Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn رحمه الله
❖ Application to This Case:
The ruling depends on the man’s intention:
➊ If he genuinely intended to issue a divorce upon that condition being fulfilled, then divorce has taken place.
➋ If his intention was not divorce, but rather to threaten, warn, or control behavior, and he did not truly mean to divorce his wife,
then no divorce occurs — only kaffārah for breaking an oath is due.
❖ Important Advice:
The husband should:
- Fear Allah in such sensitive matters,
- Avoid swearing oaths involving divorce, as repeated use of such statements can lead to unlawful (ḥarām) marital relations, especially when couples continue living together after multiple divorces.
This situation is increasingly common:
People issue multiple divorces but continue to live as husband and wife — this renders the relationship unlawful, and any children born afterward may be considered illegitimate in Islamic law.
It is safer and more responsible to keep one's tongue away from divorce-related oaths.
والله أعلم بالصواب
