Did the divorce take place based on the words of divorce uttered by the husband and the subsequent Sharia and legal procedures, and what is the correct Sharia position for the spouses given their desire to return and live together as a married couple?

Divorce occurs if you pronounce it, or if your intention when writing the court petition was divorce, or if you authorized your lawyer to effectuate it. If it is a second divorce, it is permissible to take the wife back as long as she is within her iddah (waiting period), or with a new contract and dowry after its expiration, bearing in mind that any subsequent divorce makes her irrevocably divorced (baynunah kubra).

If your intention was not divorce when writing, and you did not authorize the lawyer to effectuate it, then divorce does not occur. A divorce issued by a non-Muslim judge is not Islamically valid.

It is not permissible to resort to man-made courts except out of necessity, such as to claim a confirmed legitimate right, or to document it, or to redress an injustice, provided that the Islamic ruling is determined and adhered to.

If you wish to keep your wife after the occurrence of the second divorce and the expiration of her iddah, you must enter into a new contract with a new dowry. If the divorce has not occurred, she is still your wife.

It is advised to treat one's wife well, be patient with her, and live with her honorably.

Note: If the five previous separation scenarios include any explicit or implicit divorce, the Islamic ruling changes.