Is divorce effected only by the word "divorce," or by any expression that indicates it?

Question:
I ask Allah to do you good. Your Eminence, father, the questioner asks: Is divorce effected only by the word "divorce," or by any expression that indicates it?

Answer:
Divorce is effected by the explicit word "divorce" and by what is explicit among them, which is called the explicit form that does not admit of any meaning other than divorce; it has no meaning other than separation. And there is the implicit form, which is an expression that admits of divorce and other meanings. This returns to the intention of the speaker: if he intended divorce by it, it is a divorce; if he did not intend it, it is not a divorce. Yes. As for the explicit divorce, his intention has no bearing on it. If he utters it, his wife is divorced, even if he says, "I did not intend it" or "I did not mean it." Yes.