Husband declaring his wife Haram for him if he does not pay a bill and someone else did
Q 2: One day, when I was traveling with one of my relatives,
we bought some items and then started to compete to pay the bill. I swore that if I did not pay for them, my wife would be Haram (forbidden) for me. I then went to get some items from another place, but when I returned I found that he had paid for them and he refused to let me pay for them.
I hope that you will give me the Fatwa (legal opinion issued by a qualified Muslim scholar) on this matter and may Allah bless you for it. By the way, I am married and so is he.
A:
If the reality is as you mentioned and you intended by declaring your wife Haram for you to prevent your friend from paying for the items, you have to make Kaffarah (expiation) for your broken oath by feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a believing slave. If you cannot do that, you have to observe Sawm (Fasting) for three days, and it is preferable for them to be successive. But if you intended by this to divorce your wife if he paid for the items, you have divorced your wife by one pronouncement effecting Talaq (divorce pronounced by a husband). You can take her back in marriage as long as she is still in her ‘Iddah (woman’s prescribed waiting period after divorce or widowhood) and this divorce is not preceded or followed by two pronouncements of Talaq. (Part No. 20; Page No. 93) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.