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Fatwa CenterThe Ruling on a Husband Who Says 'I Have Divorced My Wife' — Does the Divorce Take Effect?
Question
Assalamu alaikum, One of my relatives had an affair with a girl. He got married to someone else. When the girl came to know about it, she became depressed. She told his boyfriend to divorce his wife. His girlfriend told him, orally utter your wife's name and say I divorced my wife." The man asked his girlfriend, what will happen if does so. She said the talaq takes place. He said i divorced my wife. 5 separate months he did the same without intention to befool tbe girl. Is the talaq valid?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is preferable that this man contacts a scholar directly, so that the full context of what he uttered may be clarified, as there may be a need to examine certain details that could have a bearing on the legal ruling.
As a general benefit, we say: the statement of a husband, "I have divorced my wife", carries two possibilities:
The first possibility: that he intended by it to initiate a new divorce. In this case, there is no doubt that the divorce takes effect. However, there is a further point of detail regarding the repetition of the divorce — assuming it did take effect — namely, whether the repetition occurred before or after a return (raj'ah). The scholars differ on this: does it constitute three divorces, or only one?
The second possibility: that by saying "I divorced my wife," he intended to inform others that he had previously divorced her. This is a statement of information, which may be true or false. And falsely claiming to have issued a divorce does not constitute a divorce, according to the stronger opinion among the jurists.
We also draw attention to the fact that it is obligatory to make sincere repentance from any unlawful relationship. And we advise caution against taking lightly the matter of uttering words of divorce, for it may result in the destruction of a family and the loss of children.
Allah Knows best.
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