The Ruling on Divorce in Anger and the Ruling on Innovated Divorce

The first message in this episode came from listener (M. M.) from the Arab Republic of Egypt, who works in Riyadh. He says in his message: A verbal dispute occurred between me and my mother-in-law, my wife’s mother, in the presence of my wife. The words became heated until a word came out of my mouth that I wished had not come out and that my tongue had not spoken. I said: “Your daughter is divorced.” I said it without any hatred or dislike for my wife at all, and there was no prior intention to utter this phrase, which I regret. So, does my saying to my mother-in-law, in the presence of my wife, “Your daughter is divorced” make her divorced? I know, based on my superficial information about the ruling of the Shari'ah, that it is merely idle talk as long as it is in a moment of emotion. I have resumed my normal marital life with my wife, but I want to know the fatwa to put my mind at ease?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
As for what follows: A believer should not be hasty in divorce. It is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: A believer should not be hasty in divorce; he should be deliberate and not divorce except with deliberation and a desire for divorce. This is because his soul has found the woman disagreeable, and he sees that the best course is to divorce her, so he divorces her with knowledge. If he divorces, let him divorce her only once, not more than one divorce. This is the Sunnah. However, if the divorce occurs in a state of intense anger that prevents him from reasoning and controlling himself due to a long dispute between him and her, cursing, quarreling, or beating, then if it is confirmed that the intense anger arose from a clear cause such as cursing, quarreling, beating, or similar things from which intense anger and the inability to control oneself in this situation are known, then on the most correct view, the divorce does not take effect. Because in this state, he is most like a madman or an insane person, so his divorce does not take effect. As for ordinary anger that is customary among people, which is not intense anger where its causes and intensity are present, then the divorce takes effect with it. If it was one divorce, he should take her back and witness two men, saying: “Bear witness, so-and-so and so-and-so, that I have taken back my wife,” or “I have returned my wife,” or “I have retained my wife,” or similar. This is the Sunnah. Because Allah said: [Al-Talaq: 2]. This is regarding divorce and taking back. So he should witness two men that he has taken her back. If his soul finds her disagreeable, he should witness two men that he has divorced her. Then, if he divorces her the second time, if it is out of a desire for divorce or ordinary anger that is not intense, then the second divorce also takes effect, and he has the right to take her back. He should witness two men that he has taken her back if he desires that. This is the Sunnah. If the anger becomes intense with him clearly due to causes that necessitated it, such as beating, cursing, quarreling, or similar things where the anger is intense and a person is unable to control himself, so he cannot withstand it due to the anger that overcame him, then in this state, he is like a madman or an insane person, so the divorce does not take effect. Then the third divorce remains. If the first two divorces have occurred, the last divorce makes her forbidden to him except after another husband. If two divorces have occurred before it, then the last divorce is the one that makes her forbidden until she marries another husband.
So the believer should examine himself in these matters and fear Allah . If the divorce occurs from a willing heart and a desire for divorce, or in ordinary anger, then it is counted against him, and the woman is considered to have been divorced once. Then the second is like this, and the third is like this, according to what occurs from the servant. There are other matters in which divorce may occur: the state of menstruation, the state of post-natal bleeding, and the state of purity in which he had intercourse with her.
Some scholars have held that in this state, the divorce does not take effect, but rather it is an innovated, denounced divorce that is not permissible. A Muslim should not divorce during menstruation, nor during post-natal bleeding, nor in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her. This is based on what is established in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) In another wording, he said to him: meaning: before he touches her. And he recited the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Talaq: 1]. This is divorce for the waiting period, that he should divorce her in a state of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her, or in a state of her pregnancy.
Some of the general public think that divorce of a pregnant woman does not take effect, and this is an error. Divorce of a pregnant woman is lawful and takes effect. The matter in which there is disagreement is the divorce of a menstruating woman or a woman in post-natal bleeding, or the divorce of a woman who is in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her and she is not pregnant. This is the point of disagreement. The majority of scholars hold that the divorce takes effect. The majority of scholars hold that the divorce takes effect in the state of menstruation, in the state of post-natal bleeding, and in the state of purity in which he had intercourse with her, just like the state of a pregnant woman. A group of scholars held that it does not take effect because it is a denounced divorce that did not conform to the Shari'ah, so it does not take effect. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) denounced it, warned the Ummah against it, and ordered the one who divorces to retain her until she menstruates, then becomes pure, then menstruates again, then becomes pure. Then, if he wishes, he divorces, and if he wishes, he retains her. This opinion, which some scholars held, is more apparent in evidence and stronger in evidence. However, it is obligatory for the believer to be cautious of divorce in these matters. If he divorces in the state of menstruation, he has sinned. Or if he divorces in the state of post-natal bleeding, he has sinned. Likewise, if he divorces her in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her, it is not permissible. He must repent from that and not return to it. As for whether it takes effect, you have known that the majority hold that it takes effect. A group of scholars held that it does not take effect, among them Ibn 'Umar (may Allah have mercy on him) , for it is established from him that he was asked for a ruling on that, and he said: “It is not counted.” The meaning of that also came from Tawus, the noble Tabi'i, and from Khalas ibn 'Amr al-Hijri, the noble Tabi'i. A group of scholars held this view. The believer should be cautious of being lax in these matters, and he should guard his tongue from divorce except when there is a need for it and a desire for it in a state of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her, or in a state of pregnancy. This is the lawful divorce. As for divorcing her in menstruation, or in post-natal bleeding, or in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her, this is not permissible. It is obligatory to repent from that, be cautious of it, and not return to it. And Allah is the Helper. Yes.
The presenter: But it appears that our brother’s divorce is counted as one divorce; because from his words he says: He said to his mother-in-law: “Your daughter is divorced,” and then he mentions that he had intercourse with her after that.
The Shaykh: The point is that if the divorce did not become established for him and the anger did not become intense with him due to a dispute that occurred between them, or beating, or cursing, then the divorce is counted against him, and his intercourse with her is a taking back of her. His intercourse with her is a taking back of her. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah bless you.