Is the wife considered to have been legally returned if her husband returned her with the intention of returning her from a first divorce that did not occur, while she was in the waiting period of a second divorce that had actually occurred, and is the return sufficient without witnesses?

A divorce by

implication (طلاق الكناية) does not occur unless there is an intention to

effectuate divorce. If you divorced your wife with a revocable divorce (طلاق

رجعي) and took her back before the expiry of her waiting period (Iddah), then

she has returned to your marital bond. Your unawareness of the second divorce

does not prevent the validity of the رجعة (return/reconciliation) as long as

it occurred within the Iddah. The absence of witnesses for the رجعة does not

invalidate it according to the majority of scholars. Similarly, conjugal

relations with the wife during her Iddah from a revocable divorce effectuate

the رجعة, even if the husband was unaware of the divorce taking place. The

Iddah for a divorced woman who menstruates is three menstrual cycles. For a

pregnant woman, her Iddah ends with childbirth. For a non-pregnant woman who

does not menstruate, her Iddah is three months. It is preferable to present

the matter to trustworthy scholars in your country.