to (112) the sky, or "You turned the stone into gold," or "You drank this entire river," or "You carried the mountain," or "The deceased willed it." There are two opinions regarding this. One is that the divorce takes effect immediately, because he appended the divorce with that which nullifies its totality and prevents its occurrence in the present and in the future; therefore, it is invalid, like the exception of the whole, and as (113) if he said: "You are divorced with a divorce that does not occur upon you," or "It does not diminish the number of your divorces." The second opinion is that it does not take effect, because he suspended the divorce upon a condition that does not exist, and because that which is intended to be distanced is suspended upon the impossible, as in his saying (114):

If the crow turns gray, I shall come to my people And the tar shall become like fresh milk.

Meaning: I will never come to them. It is said: If he suspends it upon that which is intellectually impossible, it takes effect immediately because it has no existence, so the qualification was not suspended upon it, and the absolute divorce remains, thus it takes effect. If he suspends it upon that which is habitually impossible, such as flying or ascending to the sky, it does not take effect because (115) it has (116) existence (117), and the species of such things have been found in the miracles of the prophets (peace be upon them) and the wonders of the saints; therefore, it is permissible to suspend the divorce upon it, and it does not take effect before its existence. As for if he suspends her divorce upon the negation of performing the impossible, and says: "You are divorced if you do not kill the dead person," or "ascend to the sky," she is divorced immediately, because he suspended it upon the absence of that, and its absence is known in the present and in the future, so the divorce takes effect, just as if he said: "You are divorced if I do not sell my slave," and the slave died. Likewise, if he said: ["You are divorced"] (118) "I shall certainly drink the water that is in the pitcher," and there is no water in it, or: "I shall certainly kill the deceased," the divorce takes effect immediately, for the reason we have mentioned. Abu...