Nasai

Urdu Hashiyah (Commentary):

There is no restriction in this hadith regarding before or after consummation. In reality, the Imam has interpreted this narration to align it with the position of the majority of scholars, by explaining that in this hadith, the three divorces refer to a woman with whom intercourse has not taken place. For such a woman, three and one are equal, because for a woman with whom intercourse has not occurred, even a single divorce is irrevocable (bain), meaning reconciliation is not possible. However, if the hadith is read carefully, this interpretation proves to be incorrect, because this issue has always been the same from the beginning and remains so even now, as it is a Qur’anic ruling. What could be the reason for restricting this to the early period of Umar radi Allahu anhu? The real point is that this hadith clearly establishes that if three divorces are given at once, they will be counted as one divorce, whether the woman is consummated with or not. During his caliphate, Umar radi Allahu anhu, as a punitive measure, enforced three as three. Due to his command, the majority of the Companions and Successors began to give this fatwa, to the extent that even the narrator of this hadith, Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhu, started issuing this fatwa, which led people to consider this narration doubtful. The decision of Umar radi Allahu anhu was a political, administrative, and disciplinary one. Just as administrative decisions change, this too can change. In every era, some people have explicitly stated that the legal ruling is that three divorces given at one time will be counted as one. Among the Companions, Ali, Ibn Mas‘ud, Zubair, and Abdur Rahman ibn Awf radi Allahu anhum, and among the Successors, Tawus and Ikrimah, hold this view. The same is the position of the scholar of Maghazi, Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Qayyim, and Allamah Ibn Hazm; in fact, one narration from Imam Malik also supports this. Among the Malikis, many jurists, and among the Hanafis, Muhammad ibn Muqatil Razi, also say the same. Now, calling this a rare (shadh) position is only in relation to the four Imams, otherwise, in every era, there have been people who held this view. (For details, see Hadith: 3430. Also see: “Three Divorces in One Sitting and Its Legal Solution” by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf)