Did the majority of scholars base their view that a bid‘i (innovated) divorce, such as divorcing three times in one sitting, is effective on the ijtihad of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), or do they have strong evidence from the Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to enforce it during his lifetime?

It appears that the questioner is afflicted with divorce-related obsessive thoughts (waswasah). We have already explained that our preferred view is that of the majority of scholars, which holds that triple divorce uttered in a single phrase counts as three divorces. Among the evidence cited by the majority are:

1. From Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurairah, and Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas, when they were asked about a virgin woman divorced by her husband three times, they all replied: "She is not lawful for him until she marries another husband." 2. From Alqamah, that a man came to Ibn Mas'ud after divorcing his wife ninety-nine times. Ibn Mas'ud said: "Three divorces make her irrevocably separated from you, and the rest are an act of aggression." 3. From Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Yahya, that a man came to Uthman after divorcing his wife a hundred times. Uthman said: "Three divorces make her unlawful for you, and ninety-seven are an act of aggression." 4. From Sa'id ibn Jubayr, that a man came to Ibn Abbas after divorcing his wife a thousand times. Ibn Abbas said: "Three divorces make her unlawful for you, and the rest are a burden of sin upon you. You have taken the verses of Allah in jest."

As for the statement of Ibn Abbas: "During the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu Bakr, and two years into the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, a triple divorce was counted as one. Then Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'People have rushed into a matter in which they had ample time, so what if we enforce it upon them?' So he enforced it upon them," scholars have differed on its meaning. The preferred interpretation is that people used to issue a single divorce, then they rushed to issue three divorces at once, so Umar enforced it upon them. This interpretation is supported by the fact that Umar censured them for rushing into a matter in which they had ample time. Moreover, Ibn Abbas himself ruled that triple divorce is binding for those who utter it collectively, which indicates his reversion to the view of the majority and the consensus on this matter.

Regarding the evidence of the majority concerning the occurrence of divorce during a period of purity in which intercourse occurred, some of it has been mentioned in previous fatwas.