Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 9594 — We were sitting with Sayyiduna Abdullah

Alqamah bin Qays narrates: We were sitting with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) when a man came and said: I have given my wife eight divorces. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Did you say it all at once?" He said: Yes. He asked: "Do you want your wife to be separated from you?" He said: Yes. He said: "It is as you said." Then another man came to him and said: I have given my wife as many divorces as the number of the stars. He asked: "Did you say it all at once?" He said: Yes. He asked: "So do you want her to be separated from you?" He said: Yes. The narrator said: At that, Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said something about the women of the earth that I do not remember. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah has made clear to you how divorce is to be done. So whoever divorces as Allah has commanded, the ruling has been made clear for him; and whoever creates confusion, we leave him with that very confusion. By Allah! You cannot confuse matters for yourselves and then have us bear it on your behalf; rather, it will be as you say."