What is the ruling of the Shari'ah concerning a man who said to his children, "I have divorced her," when asked about his wife whom he had expelled from the house, knowing that this is the third divorce and that the father claims his intention was disciplinary and that she was not present when he uttered it, while the شیخs have ruled that the divorce has occurred?

The husband's statement "I have divorced her" carries two possibilities: Either he intends to initiate a new divorce, which is an enforceable divorce even if the wife is absent, and her knowledge of it is not a condition. Or he intends to inform that he had previously divorced her, and this does not constitute a new divorce. If he intends to initiate a divorce, and he has previously divorced her twice, then she has become irrevocably separated from him (baynunah kubra) and is not lawful for him until she marries someone else. However, if he intends to inform about a previous divorce, no new divorce takes place, and the wife remains under his marital bond.