What is the ruling regarding a man marrying a previously married woman (thayyib) whom he had divorced with an oath of divorce before consummation, then he took her back, believing it to be a revocable divorce, and thereafter held a wedding attended by her guardian and family, consummated the marriage with her, and they had a child; then he divorced her three consecutive times, taking her back during the iddah after each divorce? Was their initial life and marriage valid? Is the child considered legitimate? Is the wedding considered a valid new marriage lacking only the dowry? And what is the ruling on the divorces that followed the wedding?

Divorce before consummation or valid seclusion is an irrevocable divorce. If a man divorces his wife in this situation, his subsequent return to her is not valid. Holding a wedding celebration does not substitute for a valid Islamic marriage contract. Any subsequent divorce does not take effect because the woman has already been irrevocably separated from him. As for the children, they are his children, and his cohabitation with her is not considered zina (fornication) because he believed the marriage to be valid. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Indeed, Muslims are in agreement that for any marriage that the husband believed to be permissible, if he engaged in intercourse therein, his child born from it is attributed to him, and they inherit from each other, by agreement of the Muslims." This matter should be presented to a Sharia court or to trusted scholars.