Repeating Talaq

7-9-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

My question is about divorce. Me and my wife got married some time ago but haven't consummated the marriage yet. After some time me and my wife got into argument and I told my wife 'you and I have nothing left and its finished between you and I', intending by this divorce. At that time I did not know the rulings about divorce and I only repeated the words some times intending divorce? I don't know exactly what I sad, but I think it was more like confirmation of what I said. At that time I don't know about the ruling on saying divorce three times and intending divorce tree times. I only repeated what I sad. Now is my divorce regarded as final or are we still permissible for each other?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Your words "you and I have nothing left and it is finished between you and me" are among the illusive expression of Talaq". The ruling of such expressions depends on your intention at the time of talking if you had intended Talaq by those expressions then the divorce occurred; if you had not intended Talaq (Talaq) then the divorce did not occur. Now, since you had intended Talaq by those words then the divorce is effective. If you had repeated that expression only with the intention of confirmation, then the repetition is not considered as a new Talaq provided the statement was continuous. Ibn Qudamah wrote in his book al-Mughni: confirmation of a statement is not considered a new statement, as it is similar to the use of adjectives, conjunctions, etc. However, if there was a pause between the words as understood from your question, then the intention of confirmation is not considered. Finally, we advise you to consult an Islamic court in your city, if it is not available then consult some Muslim scholars. Allah knows best.