Is the woman considered divorced by the pronouncement "You are divorced, divorced, divorced," followed by "You are divorced twenty times," or is she still married to her husband, and does she take the ruling of a woman divorced before consummation, especially with a new suitor proposing to her?

The rulings regarding divorce before consummation and khalwa (private seclusion) can be summarized as follows: It is an irrevocable divorce (ṭalāq bā’in) by scholarly consensus, and a new contract is required for the couple to remarry. If she is divorced with separate pronouncements, such as "You are divorced, divorced," the first pronouncement makes the divorce irrevocable. However, if she is divorced with a single statement like "You are divorced twenty times," the majority opinion is that three divorces occur, while others hold it to be a single divorce.

If the divorce occurs after khalwa but before consummation, it is an irrevocable divorce according to the majority. The Hanbalis, however, consider it a revocable divorce (ṭalāq raj‘ī), and the husband may take her back during her ‘iddah (waiting period), even without her consent. The majority stipulates actual consummation for the validity of raj‘ah (returning the wife), whereas the Hanbalis consider a valid khalwa (closing a door or lowering a curtain in a place where they are not seen by a discerning person and are safe from others' observation, and she does not prevent him from intercourse if he wishes) to be equivalent to consummation. Consequently, the rulings related to consummation, such as the obligation of the mahr (dower) and the ‘iddah, apply.

Therefore, if a valid khalwa occurred and she did not prevent him from intercourse, the divorce is revocable, and his raj‘ah is valid. The wife remains under his marital authority until he divorces her and her ‘iddah expires. However, if there was no valid khalwa, the divorce is irrevocable, raj‘ah is not valid, and the wife is permitted to marry another. If the spouses disagree on the validity of the raj‘ah, the matter is referred to the Sharia court for resolution.