If a person intends to divorce, does the divorce take place?

The questioner : Your Eminence, if a person intends to divorce, does the divorce take place?

The Shaykh : If he intends to divorce, the divorce does not take place. In fact, even if he talks to himself about divorcing her, the divorce does not take place. If he says, "I will write a divorce paper for my wife now," and then brings out the paper and pen but changes his mind, there is no divorce. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This is a blessing from Allah. This applies to the ordinary person, the one who is balanced. As for the person who suffers from obsessive doubts, his divorce does not take place, even if he utters the words of divorce. I ask Allah to protect us from this; some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding their families. You find that he divorces his wife against his will, to the extent that if he opens the mushaf or a book to read, Satan tells him, "You said that if you opened the book, your wife is divorced." He even has obsessive doubts about everything. His divorce does not take place, even if he writes it with his own hand and speaks it with his own tongue; there is no divorce upon him. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Al-Ighlaq" means that it is locked upon the person so that he does the thing without intention. Do you understand? Yes.