What is the ruling of the Islamic religion on a husband who said to his wife: "If you leave the apartment, you are divorced by three," and then she left the apartment immediately thereafter, knowing that the marriage was by Sunnah and not legally documented on official paper, and is it permissible for her to marry later (i.e., after the 'iddah) or is she still bound to the first husband, and she does not wish to return to him?

If a man says to his wife: "If you leave the apartment, you are thrice divorced," and she then leaves, the triple divorce takes effect, and she becomes irrevocably separated from him (baynunah kubra). She is not lawful for him until she marries another man in a valid marriage of desire, and he divorces her after consummation. This is the view of the majority of scholars.

However, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds that the divorce does not take effect if the husband did not intend divorce but rather intended to prevent her from leaving. In this case, expiation for a broken oath (kaffarat yamin (definition)) is sufficient for him. In this situation, the wife remains under his marital bond, and it is not permissible for her to marry anyone else. If the husband did intend divorce, then one divorce takes effect, and he may take her back before her waiting period (iddah (definition)) expires.

It is advisable to go to the Sharia (definition) court to resolve the matter. A valid Islamic marriage (nikah (definition) shari) is contracted when its pillars are met: a guardian (wali), two just witnesses, a dowry (mahr), and a formula of offer and acceptance. It is not a condition for the validity of the marriage that it be documented by an official authority.