Does a triple divorce by oath take effect without knowledge of its meaning or intention to divorce, and does this entail sin or expiation, such as feeding the poor or fasting?

The majority of scholars hold that swearing by divorce results in divorce upon breaking the oath, and that uttering "triple divorce" effectuates three divorces.

However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that swearing by divorce when the intention is not to effectuate divorce, but rather to threaten or emphasize, takes the ruling of an oath sworn by Allah. In this case, the one who swore the oath must offer expiation for an oath (kaffarat yamin), and no divorce occurs. He also holds that uttering "triple divorce" effectuates a single divorce.

Therefore, the fatwa issued by us is that if you lied in your triple divorce oath, you have committed a sin, and you must repent and return the right to its owner. Your wife has become irrevocably divorced from you with a major (kubra) separation, and there is no way for you to return to her unless she marries another man (a marriage of desire), and then he divorces her after consummation or dies, and her waiting period (iddah) ends.

As for if you swore truthfully, no divorce has occurred. However, it is necessary to avoid swearing by divorce because it is among the oaths of the wicked. The lawful oath is only by Allah the Almighty.