What is the ruling regarding a man divorcing his wife three times while in a state of anger, knowing that he had not met her for ten years, and the marriage took place without her father's knowledge, but he later approved of it?

The majority of scholars hold the view that a woman's marriage without the permission of her guardian (wali) is invalid. It is not validated by the father's consent after the contract, unless a Sharia judge rules it valid, or unless the contract is conducted by someone who follows the school of Imam Abu Hanifa.

According to the majority opinion, which is the relied-upon fatwa: - The marriage is considered invalid (fasid), and it must be annulled either by the husband's divorce or by the ruler's annulment. - The first divorce pronounced by the husband is considered an annulment of this invalid marriage, and it is an irrevocable divorce (talaq ba'in). - Resumption of the marriage (raj'ah) is not permissible after this first divorce, because one of the conditions for resumption is that it occurs during the waiting period (iddah) of a valid marriage. - Consequently, the divorces that occurred after the first divorce are not valid because they did not apply to an existing marital bond, as the woman had become irrevocably separated from her husband by the first divorce.

In the case where the marriage is valid (e.g., if the one who conducted the contract follows Abu Hanifa or if a judge ruled it valid): - The first divorce is effective if the husband was conscious at the time of uttering it; otherwise, there is no consequence for him due to the lifting of accountability. - The subsequent divorces (twice) — if they occurred while the husband was conscious of what he was saying — take effect if the wife was still within her waiting period from the first revocable divorce, because a revocable divorcee is considered like a wife. - If they occurred after the waiting period ended, none of them take effect. - The waiting period ends with her purification from the third menstrual cycle, or by giving birth, or by the passage of three months for a non-menstruating woman. - Regarding the repetition of divorce: If he says "You are divorced, you are divorced," two divorces are incumbent upon him, unless he intended to emphasize the first. If he says "You are divorced, divorced," one divorce is incumbent upon him, unless he intended more. - If three divorces have occurred, the wife becomes unlawful for her husband until she marries another man in a valid marriage, he consummates the marriage with her, and then he divorces her. - A wife's request for divorce due to the husband's long absence does not make her sinful.