The Stronger Position Regarding One Who Divorces His Wife Three Times with a Single Utterance

This is a letter received from Sudan, from the North Kordofan Directorate, from (M. M.). He asks and says: A man says to his wife, "You are divorced three times." Does this count as three actual divorces, or is it counted as one? Please inform us; may Allah reward you.
Answer: There is scholarly disagreement on this issue when a man divorces his wife three times with a single utterance, saying, "So-and-so is divorced three times," or "So-and-so is divorced three times," or addressing her directly, "You are divorced three times," or "You are divorced three times." The majority of scholars hold that this divorce takes effect and is binding, and she becomes forbidden to him until she marries another husband, a marriage of desire, not a marriage for the purpose of facilitating remarriage, and he has intercourse with her, then he separates from her by death or divorce. This is the view of the majority of scholars and most of them, and it is the ruling that 'Umar (may Allah have mercy on him) issued during his caliphate and enforced upon the people.
Some scholars held that it counts as one revocable divorce; because it is established in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): This view is stronger, that it is considered one, unless a judge rules on it and enforces it, in which case it is enforced. If the issue is brought to a judge and he enforces the three divorces, they are valid. No one is permitted to issue a fatwa making it one except with the permission of the judge who enforced it.
As for if a judge has not enforced it, the correct view is that it is one, and he has the right to take her back as long as she is in the waiting period, based on the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas mentioned above, and because of the mercy, compassion, and reconciliation this entails for Muslims. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [al-Baqarah:185] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So as long as the dispensation is clear in the authentic hadith, it is preferable to make it one; this is what is preferable. And as for the ruling of 'Umar, it was based on independent legal reasoning and seeking the good, and the Sunnah, when it is clear, takes precedence over the opinion of everyone. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.