Does a divorce take effect if the husband utters it while his intention is other than divorce?
The words of divorce are of two types: explicit, which do not require an intention, and by which divorce occurs even if the husband was joking, such as "You are divorced." This is based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "There are three matters whose seriousness is serious and whose joking is serious: marriage, divorce, and return (revocation of divorce)." The other type consists of words that can potentially mean something other than divorce, such as "I have separated from you" or "I have released you." Divorce does not occur with these words unless the husband intended divorce by them; otherwise, it does not.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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