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Does divorce occur if the husband says to his wife over the phone, "You are divorced, divorced, divorced," and then apologizes, claiming anger, and is expiation (kaffara) required of him?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"You are divorced" (أنت طالق) is among the explicit pronouncements of divorce by which divorce takes effect. If the husband repeats the phrase "You are divorced, divorced, divorced" (أنت طالق الطالق الطالق):

If he intended divorce with the first pronouncement and made the subsequent ones an affirmation, or if he had no intention: one divorce takes effect, and he may take her back as long as it does not complete the three divorces.

If he intended to initiate divorce with each pronouncement: three divorces take effect according to the majority of scholars, and his wife is not lawful for him until she marries another husband.

According to the view of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: only one divorce takes effect, even if he intended three, and he may take her back.

The husband's apology or anger does not prevent the divorce from taking effect, unless his anger was so severe that he lost awareness of what he was saying.

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

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