Is a wife considered divorced after her husband utters "divorce" three or more times while angry, and then tells her, "You are forbidden to me like my mother and my sister," intending thereby to confirm the divorce? Is this considered ẓihār? What is the ruling on her remaining in the house, and how can she be taken back (reconciled) Islamically?

If a man divorces his wife with three pronouncements and follows that by saying, "You are forbidden to me like my mother and sister," then she is irrevocably divorced from him with a major divorce, and she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband. This is the view of the majority of scholars. As for his statement, "You are forbidden to me like my mother and sister," it has no effect because it came after the irrevocable divorce. Had he intended it initially, it could have been considered ẓihār (a form of injurious speech likened to divorce) or a divorce, if the irrevocable divorce had not already occurred with the three pronouncements. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is of the opinion that divorcing three times in one go counts as only one divorce. It is necessary to refer the matter directly to a mufti for further clarification from the husband.