Does divorce take effect in the following cases: uttering it to oneself, or doubting whether it was uttered, or uttering it later with the aim of knowing how it was issued previously, or repeating the utterance later, or uttering it unintentionally after waking up, or doubting whether divorce has taken effect after reconciliation? And is it a condition for the validity of divorce that the utterance be audible?
"Divorce does not occur through self-talk (hadith al-nafs) about divorce, nor through doubt concerning uttering it, because marriage is established with certainty and is not removed by doubt. As for a man's statement to his wife, 'Stay with your family, and if someone proposes to you, marry him,' this is a kinayah (ambiguous statement) through which divorce does not occur except with intention. Doubt, in the terminology of jurists, is the absence of certainty. It is divided into three categories: that which is agreed upon as valid, that which is agreed upon as invalid (such as doubt about divorce, which has no effect), and that about which there is disagreement. It is not a condition for the validity of the divorce utterance that it be audible to those next to you; it is sufficient that you hear it yourself. One must abandon obsessive thoughts and treat them with dhikr (remembrance of Allah), recitation of the Quran, and companionship with righteous people."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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