He Declared His Wife Forbidden to Himself, Like His Mother and His Sister

Question :

My husband uttered an oath of divorce at me, saying:
"You are forbidden to me, like my mother and my sister." But we were fortunate to be reunited once more. I was pregnant in the seventh month, and my family decided that he must feed thirty poor persons before I delivered. I am now in the second month following delivery, but my husband's situation is difficult; though he has the intention to feed thirty poor persons, he has not done so until now. I am an observant Muslim woman and I fear Allah very much; and I am afraid to live with my husband in a forbidden state. Please advise me.

Answer:

These words which your husband pronounced do not constitute divorce, but Zihar, because he said: "You are forbidden to me, like my mother and my sister." Az-Zihar, as described by Allah, is hateful speech and untruth. Therefore it is incumbent upon your husband to turn in repentance to Allah for what he has done. It is not permissible for him to take pleasure in you (i.e. sexual intercourse) until he does what Allah has commanded him to do; and Allah, Most Glorified, Most High has said:
And those who make unlawful to them (their wives) by Zihär and wish to free themselves from what they uttered, (the penalty) in that case is the freeing of a slave before they touch each other. That is an admonition to you (so that you may not repeat such an ill thing). And Allah is All-Aware of what you do. And he who finds not (the money for freeing a slave) must fast two successive months before they both touch each other. And he who is unable to do so, should feed sixty Masäkin (poor).

So it is not permissible for him to approach you and take pleasure in you, until he has done what Allah has commanded him to do. Nor is it permissible for you to allow him to do so, until he does what Allah has commanded him to do. As for the saying of your family, that he must feed thirty poor persons, it is wrong, because the Verse as you have heard-proves that it is incumbent upon him to free a slave, and if he does not find one, then he must fast for two months consecutively, and if he is unable to do so, then he must feed sixty poor persons. And freeing a slave means manumitting a bonded slave, and freeing him from the yoke of servitude. Fasting for two consecutive months means fasting for two complete months, without breaking fast even for a day in between them, unless there is some lawful excuse, such as illness or travel; then when the excuse is removed, he continues according to what he has already fasted and completes it. As for feeding sixty poor persons, he may do it in two ways: Either he prepares food and invites those sixty poor persons to eat; or he distributes rice or whatever the staple food of the country is, among the people, giving each one of them a Mudd of wheat or the like, or half a Sa of something else.

Source:
Ibn 'Uthaimin
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 77-78