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What is the ruling on a husband saying "divorced, divorced, divorced" three times with the intention of verbally uttering divorce, during an argument with his wife, and in defiance of his father who provoked him, and in a state of extreme anger and tension, without being aware of what he was saying, knowing that this is the first time he has done it and the wife did not leave the room until after hearing him say that?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The preponderant opinion is that the word "taliq" (divorced) is a kinayah (an ambiguous or indirect expression) and does not effect divorce unless intended. The presence of the wife or uttering the phrase in anger does not effect divorce unless the husband intends it. If the husband intended to divorce his wife with this expression, but did not intend three divorces, then it counts as one divorce, and he can take her back as long as she is within her iddah (waiting period). However, if he swore by Allah that he would divorce his wife if she went out, then he must pay kaffarat yamin (expiation for breaking an oath).

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

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