The Second Case: If the Divorce Is the Third of Three Divorces.

The Shaykh : Second, if the divorce is the third of three divorces, meaning he divorced his wife, then took her back, then divorced her again, then took her back, then divorced her; this third divorce means he has no right to take her back. Here, he has no right to take her back even if she consents and even if her guardian consents. She is not lawful for him until she marries another husband, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: Then He said after that: meaning after the two previous divorces. And this divorce is?
The student: The third.

The Shaykh : The third, meaning the second husband meaning that she returns to her first husband, but with a new contract, a new mahr, and witnesses, as if he is marrying her now. Thus, the woman who has been divorced three times is separated from her husband by a major separation (baynuna kubra) and is not lawful for him until another husband marries her with a valid marriage contract.
Now, if someone were to ask: If the first husband agrees with another man to marry her, and says, "Marry my wife whom I divorced, and I will give you the mahr, but when you enter upon her and have intercourse with her, divorce her so that she returns to me," is she lawful for her first husband?
The answer is: No, she is not lawful for the first husband, nor for the second husband. Because the marriage of the second husband is a marriage of tahil (a marriage intended to make a forbidden woman lawful) for what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has forbidden, and it is a scheme to circumvent the prohibitions of Allah. And scheming to make lawful what Allah has forbidden is invalid. For this reason, it came in the hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): And he called the one who performs the tahil "the borrowed he-goat," meaning it is like a borrowed he-goat to mate with the she-goat... So this second marriage, which was a marriage of tahil, is not valid, and the wife does not become lawful for the second husband through it. Even if he divorces her, she does not become lawful for the first husband.
Now, if someone were to ask: If she marries another husband without the intention of tahil, and he divorces her before having intercourse with her, is she lawful for the first husband?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : The answer is: No, she is not lawful. How can she be lawful when Allah the Exalted said: ?
We say that the Sunnah indicates this. Indeed, the wife of Rafi' al-Qurazi was divorced by her husband three times, and she then married 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr. Then she came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: And this is not realized except through intercourse.
Therefore, she is not lawful for her first husband until she marries another husband with a valid marriage contract, and he has intercourse with her. Then, if he wishes, he may divorce her afterward, and if he wishes, he may not divorce her.