Hadith 3357

(1) The statement: “You disobeyed your Lord, and your wife is fully divorced from you”: For Hanafis, innovated divorce violates the two Sunnah forms: pronouncing three divorces in one statement or separately in one clean period, two divorces similarly, one divorce during menstruation, in a clean period with prior intercourse, or after intercourse in the following menstruation. If done, the divorce occurs, and he sins. Its occurrence, number, and sinfulness are disputed. The Imamiyyah say three in one statement or during menstruation do not occur. Tawus, Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Al-Hajjaj ibn Artat, An-Nakha‘i, Ibn Muqatil, and Az-Zahiriyyah say three together count as one. The majority of Successors and later scholars, including Al-Awza‘i, An-Nakha‘i, Ath-Thawri, Abu Hanifah and his companions, Malik and his companions, Ash-Shafi‘i and his companions, Ahmad and his companions, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, Abu Ubayd, and others, say three divorces occur, but he sins. Those who differ are considered anomalous, opposing the Sunnah people. Ash-Shafi‘i disregards the number, requiring only a clean period without intercourse. If three or two are pronounced, it is not innovated. Malik recognizes only one divorce as Sunnah and dislikes three, together or separate. Hanafis dislike more than one in a clean period, but not if separate across clean periods. On whether three in one statement is sinful, Ash-Shafi‘i says all divorce is permissible as a legislated act, incompatible with prohibition, unlike divorce during menstruation, where the prohibition is extending the waiting period, not the divorce. For us, innovated divorce occurs and is sinful, as its default is prohibition for severing marriage, which holds religious and worldly benefits. Permissibility is for need of escape. No need exists for combining three, but separate across clean periods is valid per evidence, as the need persists. Its permissibility as bondage removal does not negate prohibition for losing religious and worldly benefits. This was discussed under “The most hated of lawful things to Allah is divorce”. Our evidence is “Divorce is twice…” to “And if he has divorced her…”, implying no lawful divorce except thus, as it restricts the category. No divorce is legislated as three at once. One might assume it does not occur, per the Imamiyyah, but since its illegitimacy is for external reasons (forfeiting its legislated purpose) and regret allows mitigation, it may harm himself or not. Further evidence includes Ibn Abbas’s statement to one who divorced thrice, “You disobeyed your Lord,” Abdur-Razzaq’s narration from Ubadah ibn as-Samit, “She is fully divorced by three in disobedience,” At-Tahawi’s from Malik ibn al-Harith, and An-Nasa’i’s from Mahmoud ibn Labid, as in Al-Marqah, Umdat al-Qari, and Hidayah (summarized).