Divorce based on a condition

Q: The stepdaughter of a man took his watch, so he told his wife: "You will be divorced if you do not bring the watch back to me.'' She told him: "Do whatever you like.'' He said: "You are divorced as many times as the number of locusts.'' The man came to the Committee's headquarters and said that the watch was brought back to him that same afternoon, but it was not the wife who brought it back. He further added that when he took the oath, he neither specified a time limit for returning the watch nor did he specify that the wife in particular should be the one to return it. What is the ruling on what he said?

A: If the reality is as mentioned, that the watch for which he swore to divorce his wife in case it was not returned to him had been brought back to him and that he neither specified a certain time to return the watch nor did he specify that his wife in particular should return it, he had not broken his oath and as a result the divorce had not been effective. (Part No. 20; Page No. 174) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.