Does a legitimate divorce occur when a husband divorces his wife before a judge without uttering the words of divorce in her presence, and this is documented, and she then marries another man, only to later doubt the validity of her divorce?

The pronouncements of divorce are divided into explicit and implicit (kinayah). Explicit pronouncements result in divorce, whether with or without intention, such as the words "divorce" (talaq) and "release" (sarah). Whereas implicit pronouncements do not result in divorce unless accompanied by the intention at the moment of utterance, such as saying: "Go back to your family" or "You are free," or writing a divorce for someone who is able to speak. The occurrence of divorce does not depend on the wife's knowledge of it or on its occurrence before a judge.

If the husband admits to divorce before a judge, the divorce is considered valid, and the sin falls upon him if he is lying. There is no blame on the woman for marrying someone else after her waiting period (iddah) ends. It is forbidden to marry the sister of a wife who has been revocably divorced before her waiting period ends, because this constitutes combining two sisters, which is prohibited by His Almighty's saying: "and that you take in marriage two sisters simultaneously."