Why did scholars differ on the incidence of divorce by way of jest, and why did they not adopt the Hadith: "There are three matters, serious in earnest and serious in jest"?
The scholars have agreed that the divorce pronounced by a jester (one who divorces in jest) is valid, based on the explicit wording of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "There are three matters, whose seriousness is serious and whose jest is serious: marriage, divorce, and revocation (of divorce)." This is due to the gravity of divorce and because the jester intends the utterance. It is applied to the sane adult, even if he claims he was playing or jesting, or did not intend divorce. As for the disagreement among scholars regarding the divorce of an angry person and non-explicit wordings, that is correct.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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