Regarding ruling of sareeh words

Question:

A husband had an argument with his wife. The husband left the home and forgot his keys. When he came back home, the door was locked. The wife told him that she would not open the door unless he divorces her. The husband said, “aik talaq, do talaq, teen talaq, baina.” He said that he had no intention of divorce. He just wanted her to open the door. What is the Islamic ruling regarding their marriage? Answer: ﺑﺴﻢ اﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful The husband uttered the word talaq thrice, hence three talaqs will occur irrespective of his intention because intention is not taken into consideration when the words of talaq are mentioned clearly (Fatawa Zakariya: v. 4, p. 43-44 [ZamZam])

Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (r.a.) elaborates on this matter, “If a man issues three divorces to his wife, she becomes completely forbidden to him. Even if they renew their nikah, it will be unlawful for the woman to live with him. This nikah will not be valid irrespective of whether the three divorces were issued in clear terms or in vague terms. If a woman who has been issued three divorces wishes to live with her first husband and wishes to marry him, there is only one way in doing this. That is, she will have to marry another man, engage in sexual intercourse with him, and when he dies or divorces her, she must complete her 'iddah. Upon completing her 'iddah, she can remarry her first husband. Without marrying a second man, she cannot remarry her first husband. If she marries a second man, but he dies before he could engage in sexual intercourse with her or divorced her before engaging in sexual intercourse with her, then this will not be considered. She can only marry her first husband when her second husband has intercourse with her. Without this intercourse, she cannot remarry her first husband. Understand this well.” (Bahishti Zewar: p. 398 [Darul-Ishaat])

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Mohammad Ahsan Osmani Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah Darul Ifta Birmingham