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What is the ruling on someone who uttered an explicit divorce before consummation, seclusion, and sexual intercourse with his wife, and the marital life continued for more than three years, then the man doubted his intention in uttering the divorce, and does divorce occur in such a case according to the four schools of thought?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Explicit divorce pronouncements effectuate divorce if the pronouncer intended the utterance. However, if it was a slip of the tongue, it does not count as a divorce. If one is unsure about the intention behind the utterance and has no strong inclination towards either possibility, then the default principle applies, which is to consider the speech of a legally responsible individual. Accordingly, the mentioned divorce is valid. Since it occurred before consummation, it is an irrevocable divorce (Talaq Bain Bainunah Sughra), and a new marriage contract is required to remarry the wife. His previous relationship with her was unlawful, but ignorance absolves from the prescribed punishment and legitimizes the offspring. Divorce issues should be presented to the specialized Sharia authorities.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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