Is it considered one divorce or more if the husband said to his wife: "You are upon me by three [divorces] if you inform my brother," and she then informed his brother?

A man's statement to his wife, "You are to me by three," is one of the allusive phrases of divorce that does not effect a divorce unless intended. If the husband intended to effect a triple divorce and the condition upon which he made it contingent occurred, then a triple divorce has occurred according to the majority of scholars, and the wife becomes unlawful for him until she marries another husband.

If he did not intend to effect a divorce, but rather intended to prevent her from informing his brother, then the husband is required to pay an expiation for an oath (kaffarat yameen).

Ibn Taymiyyah holds that if the husband intended to effect a divorce with this phrasing, then a single divorce is binding upon him if the condition is met, and he may take her back before the expiration of her waiting period (iddah), as long as this divorce does not complete the three divorces.

The oath is specialized by the duration or manner intended by the husband, or by the reason that prompted the oath.