What is the ruling on a man saying to his wife, "You are divorced," at a time when divorce is not permissible?

The questioner : Okay; so now, the man who says to his wife, "Divorced," does not mean?

The Shaykh : Not at all.

The questioner : Okay; would this not be a door for laxity for those with weak faith? It is not hidden from you that many Muslims are ignorant of the matters of their religion, and even some who are not ignorant, meaning they do not... meaning that adherence, so this word becomes frequent on tongues; would this not lead to...

The Shaykh : Meaning, do you think we should issue a fatwa that we divorce them...

The questioner : No, no, no, this is not it; meaning, these implications neither advance nor delay anything.

The Shaykh : We advise them, and I—as you know—receive dozens of questions of this type every night...

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : When someone is like this, I tell him: This divorce has not taken place, but I tell him: Be careful, pay attention; do not return to this word a second time; because not every time is the pot safe; why? Because we know that most shaykhs do not issue a fatwa with this detail; because they do not have knowledge of the correct Sunnah, so perhaps this man's word is conveyed to a shaykh among the shaykhs who will tell him: You divorced her.

The questioner : He will be in a difficult situation.

The Shaykh : And perhaps, ah, and perhaps he divorced her with three [divorces] , be careful, do not return to such a thing; because not every time is the pot safe, then you must control your nerves, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to that man when he came to him saying: "O Messenger of Allah, advise me?" He said to him one word: . He said: "O Messenger of Allah, advise me?" He said to him: . Three times. O Messenger of Allah, advise me? He said: . He said: So I found all the good in leaving anger. And therefore he said in another hadith: . They said: "The strong one among us is the one who wrestles people and overpowers them." He said: .

The questioner: Allah is the Greatest!

The Shaykh : So it is... by this way, not by the way of, okay, arrange another wife; this is the destruction of the home, and this reminds me of the complete wisdom of the precise legislation in the system of divorce in Islam that a Bedouin man who contracted his marriage to a woman set conditions: ; so the guardian and two witnesses from the Muslims; this home that was established with the permission of the guardian and two just witnesses is not permissible to demolish from its foundation with an outburst of anger, it must, if it is absolutely necessary, be demolished like a physical house; do you see a sane person build a house and live with this house for many years then demolish it without awareness, without feeling, without planning? This is impossible, and this is in a matter of what? Material, which is easy to compensate for; so what about the marital bond, which may have children from it, and so on? So this structure, just as it was established with this deliberation, its dissolution is even more necessary to be with this deliberation; and therefore you heard the conditions for pronouncing divorce, this is from the favor of Islam.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

Another questioner : ... you mentioned the witnesses.

The Shaykh : How?

Another questioner : Your presence mentioned the witnesses.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, it is also necessary to have witnesses in divorce.