Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If someone says: “If I marry any woman other than so-and-so, she is divorced,” what is the ruling on this?
This does not constitute a conditional divorce (ṭalāq mu‘allaq), because a conditional divorce is only valid if the woman is presently in the marriage contract at the time such a statement is made.
Since the woman in question is not currently in his nikāḥ, attaching a divorce to her holds no legal consequence.
سیدنا عبد الله بن عمر رضی اللہ عنہما بیان کرتے ہیں کہ رسول اللہ ﷺ نے فرمایا:
«لا طلاقَ فيما لا يَملِكُ، ولا عِتْقَ فيما لا يَملِكُ»
“There is no divorce regarding that which a person does not own, and no manumission regarding that which a person does not own.”
Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad: 189/2, 189–207
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2190
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1181
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2047
Chain of narration: Ḥasan (sound)
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said: “Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd رحمه الله (Ḥadīth No. 743): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (in Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 204/2, 205): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Ibn al-Mulqin رحمه الله (in Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Ḥadīth No. 1184): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
There are multiple chains supporting this narration.
① Conditional divorce is only valid when the woman is already a wife at the time of the statement.
② If she is not in the marriage contract, the statement carries no legal effect.
③ This is based on the clear prophetic principle: “No divorce regarding what one does not possess.”
❖ Question:
If someone says: “If I marry any woman other than so-and-so, she is divorced,” what is the ruling on this?
✿ Answer:
This does not constitute a conditional divorce (ṭalāq mu‘allaq), because a conditional divorce is only valid if the woman is presently in the marriage contract at the time such a statement is made.
Since the woman in question is not currently in his nikāḥ, attaching a divorce to her holds no legal consequence.
❀ Ḥadīth Evidence:
سیدنا عبد الله بن عمر رضی اللہ عنہما بیان کرتے ہیں کہ رسول اللہ ﷺ نے فرمایا:
«لا طلاقَ فيما لا يَملِكُ، ولا عِتْقَ فيما لا يَملِكُ»
“There is no divorce regarding that which a person does not own, and no manumission regarding that which a person does not own.”
Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad: 189/2, 189–207 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2190 Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1181 Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2047 Chain of narration: Ḥasan (sound)✿ Grading of the Ḥadīth by Scholars:
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said: “Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd رحمه الله (Ḥadīth No. 743): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (in Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 204/2, 205): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
✔ Ibn al-Mulqin رحمه الله (in Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Ḥadīth No. 1184): “Ṣaḥīḥ”
There are multiple chains supporting this narration.
Summary:
① Conditional divorce is only valid when the woman is already a wife at the time of the statement.
② If she is not in the marriage contract, the statement carries no legal effect.
③ This is based on the clear prophetic principle: “No divorce regarding what one does not possess.”
