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What is the legal ruling regarding a man who wrote a divorce paper for his wife himself, stating: "I, so-and-so, have divorced so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, with three repudiations," and signed it, then claimed that he did not intend divorce, and is still married to her and has children with her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Divorce takes effect by writing if it is explicit and with the intention of divorce, because writing is equivalent to verbal utterance. As for signing a divorce paper written by someone other than the husband, it refers back to the husband's intention at the time of signing; if he intended divorce, it takes effect, otherwise not, because signing is not explicit in divorce. Some scholars may hold the view that signing alone does not effect a divorce at all.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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