What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding one who doubts the occurrence of divorce, such as one who forgot the number of pronouncements, or became confused about the intention of a divorce by implication while drowsy, or doubted whether he uttered an explicit divorce or not, and does divorce occur with doubt or not?

The husband's doubt regarding divorce falls into three categories:

1. Doubt about the occurrence of divorce itself: Did he divorce or not? In this case, divorce does not occur by consensus, because marriage is established with certainty and is not removed by doubt. 2. Doubt about the number of divorces: Did he divorce once, twice, or thrice? The Malikis, some Shafi'is, and Al-Khiraqi from the Hanbalis are of the view that she is not lawful for him until after another husband, due to the possibility that it was three divorces. However, Abu Hanifa, Al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad rule by the lesser number, so if he takes her back, she becomes lawful for him. 3. Doubt about the nature of the divorce: Is it irrevocable (bain) or revocable (raj'i)? It is ruled as revocable because it is the weaker of the two types of divorce, and thus it is the certain one.