If a man divorces one of his wives, only the specified one is divorced
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Question: A man has two wives and wants to divorce one of them. If he divorces one of them, is the other one divorced as well?
Answer: If a man divorces one of his wives, whether by explicit statement or by intention, only the specific wife who was named or intended is divorced, while his other wives are not divorced by that act. This is because divorce only takes effect on the specific person it was directed at, and no one else. If the divorced wife was not named by name but was only intended in his heart, no one else is divorced, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 1.
As for the statement of some laypeople that if a man has two or more wives and he divorces one of them, he has divorced all of them, that is a false statement with no basis. Likewise, the statement of some laypeople that if a man has more than one wife and wants to divorce one of them, he should appoint an agent to do so and not perform the divorce himself, this and similar statements have no basis, and it is not permissible to rely on them.
Answer: If a man divorces one of his wives, whether by explicit statement or by intention, only the specific wife who was named or intended is divorced, while his other wives are not divorced by that act. This is because divorce only takes effect on the specific person it was directed at, and no one else. If the divorced wife was not named by name but was only intended in his heart, no one else is divorced, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات، وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىAs for the statement of some laypeople that if a man has two or more wives and he divorces one of them, he has divorced all of them, that is a false statement with no basis. Likewise, the statement of some laypeople that if a man has more than one wife and wants to divorce one of them, he should appoint an agent to do so and not perform the divorce himself, this and similar statements have no basis, and it is not permissible to rely on them.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.