What is the ruling on someone who said to his friends, "I will divorce her with three pronouncements," but he did not mean his wife, and will there be any repercussions for him in the future if he does not divorce, and is that considered a promise?

Whoever uttered this phrase and did not intend his wife by it, his divorce of her does not take effect, nor is it a promise of divorce, and nothing is binding upon him concerning it. It should be noted that a promise of divorce does not necessitate fulfillment. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "A promise of divorce does not take effect, no matter how many times it is uttered, and there is no obligation or recommendation to fulfill this promise."