What is the ruling if a man has intercourse with his wife during her waiting period after a revocable divorce, but he did not intend to take her back?

The questioner : Thank you.

The Shaykh : The school of thought holds that it is a revocation in any case, even without intention. The correct view is that if he has intercourse, he is either not intending to take her back, or he is intending to take her back, or he has nothing on his mind regarding intention. If he does not intend to take her back, it is not a revocation, and he is to be disciplined for this act. If he intends to take her back, the matter is clear. If he intends neither this nor that, the view may apply that it is a revocation, because the default is that she is his wife, and if he does with her what he would not do unless she were not divorced, she returns to her original state.

The questioner : More than anything else.

The Shaykh : No, no, no, I do not know.

The questioner : We mentioned three states for those who say that intention is a condition for taking back a wife; it is required that he intend to take her back. We mentioned that he either says it while having the intention present in his mind regarding his intercourse with his wife, or that he is not having it present, or that he did not intend it, or that he intends to take her back. Does the state of the one whose mind was empty attach to the one who intended it, or not?

The Shaykh : The school of thought holds that it attaches to the one who intended it.

The questioner : Because they do not make intention a condition. What does the one who makes intention a condition do?

The Shaykh : It is a matter of suspension, because we do not see the taking back, nor its absence.

The questioner : All right.

The Shaykh : We say now, do you desire your wife or not? If you decide, say, "I have taken her back."

The questioner : And the other one, that one is not treated, O Shaykh, as we see, the one who did not intend anything, had intercourse and did not intend anything, what do we say?

The Shaykh : We say now, she is not your wife now, the wife is not yours as long as you did not intend it, she is not yours.

The questioner : He does not take her back currently.

The Shaykh : We do not take her back for him, but if he wants to take her back, he says, "I want my wife," as if he has taken her back from now.