The Ruling on Conditional Divorce and Triple Divorce Pronounced in a Single Utterance

This is a message received from Taha Abdul Karim Abdul Al, from the Arab Republic of Egypt, residing in the Kingdom in Riyadh. The questioner says in his message: I was on vacation in Egypt and I swore an oath of divorce against my wife regarding something I wanted her not to do or repeat. I told her: If this thing is repeated, you will be divorced. After that, I traveled to the Kingdom, and a tape reached me from my mother stating that she had done what I had sworn against her for, and she repeated it once more. Out of my anger over that, I recorded a tape and sent it to my mother. In the tape, I swore against her and said: She is divorced three times. I am here, and she is currently seven months pregnant with my child, and I have four children from her. Do these oaths take effect? Please inform us, may Allah reward you. And what should I do if I travel there, knowing that I do not want to divorce her? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: As for the conditional divorce, this returns to your intention. If you intended to prevent her from doing it and not doing it, then it does not take effect if she does it, and you owe the expiation of an oath according to the most correct of the scholars' opinions. The scholars have disputed on this; some held that the conditional divorce takes effect whenever the condition is met, even if the one who made it intended prevention. So if he says: If you do such and such, if you disobey my mother, if you smoke, if you go to so-and-so's house, you are divorced, intending to prevent her and threaten her, not to effect the divorce, this takes effect according to the majority. The correct view is to distinguish: If the one who made the conditional divorce intended to prevent her, threaten her, and warn her, and did not intend to effect the divorce, then it does not take effect, and he owes the expiation of an oath, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This is what he intended: divorce, whereas he only intended to threaten and warn. So if you did not intend anything but warning and threatening, then it does not take effect.
As for the last divorce that you recorded... she is divorced three times, this takes effect as one divorce according to the correct view. The majority held that the three take effect, but the correct view is that only one takes effect from the three grouped together if they are in a single utterance. So if he says: She is divorced three times, or she is divorced three times, or she is three times, the correct view is that only one takes effect; because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) what indicates that the three in a single phrase are made into one. So you may take her back, if in the conditional divorce you did not intend anything but prevention, the previous conditional divorce, you may take her back and it counts as one against you, and she has two remaining if you had not divorced her twice before this. But if you had divorced her twice before this, you should contact the scholars there in your country and ask them, and explain to them the reality of you, the woman, and her guardian. You gather and ask the scholars known for knowledge and issuing fatwas, and explain the case to them so that they may issue a ruling for you, if Allah wills, with what they see after being informed of everything. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.