Why is Ibn Hazm's doctrine, which states that divorce does not take effect except by intention alongside explicit words, and not by allusion, rejected, despite the Hadith "Indeed, actions are by intentions"? And does Ibn Hazm believe that conditional divorce does not take effect except by intention? And why is this doctrine not acted upon, even though Ibn Hazm is considered a jurist?

Ibn Hazm's madhhab (definition) (school of thought) holds that explicit divorce does not take effect except with intention, citing as proof the hadith (definition): "Actions are but by intentions." This madhhab contradicts the consensus of the people of knowledge.

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin refuted this view, explaining that explicit divorce takes effect even if its utterer did not intend it, because it is a separation contingent on a verbal utterance, not an act by which a person draws closer to his Lord. He cited as proof the hadith: "There are three matters, serious when serious and serious when in jest: marriage, divorce, and return [to one's wife]," affirming that this hadith is the proof for the saying of the general Muslim community, and that adopting any other view opens the door to denying divorce.

Ibn Hazm's madhhab on this issue is weak, as is his statement that conditional divorce never takes effect, for it contradicts the consensus of the Ummah, which Ibn Hazm himself transmitted in "Maratib al-Ijma'."