What is the ruling on a man returning to his wife after he divorced her with three pronouncements, and Dar al-Ifta informed him that the first pronouncement is left to his conscience?
If a man divorces his wife with a triple divorce, she becomes irrevocably separated from him (baynunah kubra), and she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband. However, if the Dar al-Ifta (Fatwa Council) issues a ruling that the first divorce did not take effect (for example, because it was an ambiguous utterance without intention, or a conditional divorce where the condition's intent was not met), then if he returns to his wife based on their fatwa, there is no blame on him, provided he still had the right to take her back (raj’ah) and her waiting period (iddah) had not ended. Otherwise, if it was an minor irrevocable divorce (baynunah sughra), it would be with a new marriage contract and a new dowry. His previous declaration to everyone that he had divorced her three times does not affect the ruling, due to his ignorance of the ruling regarding the first divorce.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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