Ruling on saying: “Write her divorce as three”
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Question: From Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, the esteemed judge of the Tarif Court, may Allah guide him to all good, amen.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
O beloved, your noble letter number (391), dated 6/5/1394 AH, which is a response to my letter number (885), dated 26/4/1394 AH, has been received, may Allah grant you His pleasure. I have reviewed the attached report from your eminence, which details the situation of the husband with his wife. The summary is that he ordered her divorce to be written as three, but the judge objected to this and said, “We will write her divorce according to the Sunnah.” This was done as per the certificate issued by your eminence, referenced in my attached letter. Then, after leaving the court, he said, “She is divorced with three, and a sacrificial animal for Allah,” in the presence of her father and the witnesses.
Answer: Based on this, I have issued a ruling to the aforementioned that two divorces have taken effect on his wife: the first is the initial divorce, which is a divorce according to the Sunnah; because when he ordered her divorce to be written as three, that was not executed. What was executed was her divorce according to the Sunnah, so only one divorce took effect, because his statement, “Write her divorce as three,” is considered an authorization to the one ordered, and the one ordered did not execute it as mentioned. The second is by his statement, “She is divorced with three”; because it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that indicates that a divorce of three in one statement is considered one divorce. She retains one divorce, and he may take her back as long as she is in the waiting period. If she has exited the waiting period, she is not lawful for him except through a new marriage with its valid conditions, as is clear.
I hope you will inform everyone of this, and tell the husband that divorcing with three is not permissible, and that he must repent from that. He is also required to offer the sacrificial animal he vowed to Allah, if his intention in saying “and a sacrificial animal for Allah” was to give it as charity, offering it to Allah in gratitude for what He bestowed upon him by parting with her. May Allah reward you and guide your steps.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
O beloved, your noble letter number (391), dated 6/5/1394 AH, which is a response to my letter number (885), dated 26/4/1394 AH, has been received, may Allah grant you His pleasure. I have reviewed the attached report from your eminence, which details the situation of the husband with his wife. The summary is that he ordered her divorce to be written as three, but the judge objected to this and said, “We will write her divorce according to the Sunnah.” This was done as per the certificate issued by your eminence, referenced in my attached letter. Then, after leaving the court, he said, “She is divorced with three, and a sacrificial animal for Allah,” in the presence of her father and the witnesses.
Answer: Based on this, I have issued a ruling to the aforementioned that two divorces have taken effect on his wife: the first is the initial divorce, which is a divorce according to the Sunnah; because when he ordered her divorce to be written as three, that was not executed. What was executed was her divorce according to the Sunnah, so only one divorce took effect, because his statement, “Write her divorce as three,” is considered an authorization to the one ordered, and the one ordered did not execute it as mentioned. The second is by his statement, “She is divorced with three”; because it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that indicates that a divorce of three in one statement is considered one divorce. She retains one divorce, and he may take her back as long as she is in the waiting period. If she has exited the waiting period, she is not lawful for him except through a new marriage with its valid conditions, as is clear.
I hope you will inform everyone of this, and tell the husband that divorcing with three is not permissible, and that he must repent from that. He is also required to offer the sacrificial animal he vowed to Allah, if his intention in saying “and a sacrificial animal for Allah” was to give it as charity, offering it to Allah in gratitude for what He bestowed upon him by parting with her. May Allah reward you and guide your steps.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.