Does divorce take effect if a man utters the words of divorce without intending divorce, merely to vent his anger, while being ignorant that uttering them in private causes it to take effect? And does the ruling differ if the words were uttered secretly by moving only the lips and tongue?

If a husband utters an explicit divorce statement, being aware, intentional, and not coerced, then his divorce is effective whether he pronounces it audibly or secretly, in the presence of others or alone. However, if he merely intends it in his heart or moves his lips and tongue without uttering it, his divorce does not occur. Uttering the divorce secretly – by making himself hear it – is as effective as pronouncing it audibly. But if he merely runs it through his heart without uttering it, it does not occur. Most scholars do not stipulate the intention of making it effective. Nor does the ruling differ due to the husband's ignorance of the divorce's occurrence. However, if he utters the divorce while overcome in his mind due to obsessive whisperings (waswasah), then his divorce does not occur.