Does a divorce—intended to intimidate the wife after other solutions have been sought—take effect with a single pronouncement?

If a man divorces his wife using explicit words of divorce, the divorce takes effect immediately, regardless of whether he intended to scare her or was joking. This is because explicit divorce does not require an intention. A Muslim should guard his tongue from uttering divorce. He should rather warn his wife by reminding her of Allah and inform her that disobeying her husband is one of the major sins. Our advice to the questioner is to continue admonishing and reminding his wife. If her situation does not improve, he should then forsake her in bed, and if that doesn't work, he may strike her a non-injurious blow. We advise against rushing into divorce.