بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

لِّلَّذِينَ يُؤۡلُونَ مِن نِّسَآٮِٕهِمۡ تَرَبُّصُ أَرۡبَعَةِ أَشۡہُرٍ۬‌ۖ فَإِن فَآءُو فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (٢٢٦) وَإِنۡ عَزَمُواْ ٱلطَّلَـٰقَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ ٢٢٧

“Those who swear to abstain from their wives have four months of waiting. Therefore, if they revert back, Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful, (226) And if they resolve to divorce, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (227)”

Ruling: If one takes an oath to stay away from his wife for four months or longer, or doesn’t specify a time at all, then this is known as ilaa in Shariah. After making such an oath, if he ends up approaching or returning to her within four months, he will pay a compensation, but the couple will stay married. If he does not touch or approach her for four months, an irrevocable or ba’in divorce will automatically occur on the wife. (Tafsir Uthmani V1 pg 237)

Ruling: If one takes a vow to stay away for less than four months, the rules of ilaa do not occur. For instance, someone swore not to approach his wife for three months. If he allows the three months to pass by without approaching his wife, he will remain married to his wife and will have no compensation to pay, but if he breaks his oath and returns in the three months, he will still be married but will need to pay the compensation for braking his oath. (Tafsir Uthmani V1 pg 237)