Is a mother considered Islamically divorced from her husband who left the home five years ago, during which he threatened to kill the mother and sister, declared his disbelief in God, in addition to assaulting the sister, and what is the Islamic role of the children regarding what is happening?

Scholars differed on whether the apostasy of the husband immediately necessitates the separation of his wife or only after the expiry of her 'iddah (waiting period). The view of the Shafi'is and Hanbalis (which is the more preponderant opinion) is that the marriage remains valid if the husband returns to Islam before the expiry of the wife's 'iddah; otherwise, separation occurs. Whereas the Hanafis and Malikis hold that apostasy immediately necessitates separation. The 'iddah for a menstruating woman is three menstrual cycles, for a woman who has despaired of menstruation it is three months, and for a pregnant woman it is until she gives birth. If the 'iddah expires and the husband is still apostate, the wife is irrevocably separated from him and does not require a divorce. This is an annulment (faskh) and is not counted among the number of divorces according to the majority of scholars.