The Intent to Exaggerate in the Utterance of Divorce

Question:
And she said: The Shaykh, I hit my wife with divorce, and I said, "You are divorced," intending by that to exaggerate, meaning, you are divorced from my hand right now.

Answer:
No, the divorce is valid. If he explicitly uttered the divorce, his claim that he intended such-and-such does not benefit him. He is held to the wording; he is accountable for the wording. Ta'wil (figurative interpretation) does not benefit him. This only applies to allusions. If he said to his wife, "Go to your family," and then said, "I intended for you to go visit them," we say: there is no harm in what contradicts [the apparent meaning], because you know your intention best, and the wording is ambiguous, and you know your intention best. But if he said, "You are divorced," and then said, "I intended that she is divorced from the bond, from the tie," we say: No, this does not benefit you. We take the wording by its apparent meaning. The saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) means that no ta'wil (figurative interpretation) or any intention that contradicts the apparent meaning of the wording is accepted from the one who pronounces the divorce. Yes.