Three Divorces in One Sitting: Ruling on Reconciliation and New Nikāḥ
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil, Masāʾil-e-Ṭalāq, Volume 1, Page 331
❀ Background of the Question
A woman was married and had five children with her husband. She lived with him for about 8–10 years, then went to her parents’ home for around two years while the children remained with the husband.
After two years, the husband came and said to her:
"I give you three divorces.”
He uttered this statement in a single sitting. Later, he also signed a written paper stating:
"I divorce you.”
This incident occurred one and a half months ago. Now, the woman dislikes her husband, but for the sake of her children she wants to return to him, and the husband is also willing.
The questions are:
✿ Will this be counted as two divorces?
✿ Is reconciliation possible during the ʿiddah?
✿ If the ʿiddah has passed, is reconciliation possible through nikāḥ?
✿ What is the ruling regarding three divorces issued in one sitting?
❀ Answer: Fiqh-Based and Sharʿī Guidance
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
◈ The Situation of the Divorce
When the husband said:
"I give you three divorces,”
only one divorce took effect at that moment.
Later, when he wrote down:
"I give you three divorces,”
◈ If this written statement was merely a repetition of the verbal divorces already pronounced, then only one divorce is counted.
◈ However, if the written statement was a separate, independent action of divorce, then two divorces will be counted.
◈ Scholarly Opinion on the Number of Divorces
Since there was no reconciliation between these pronouncements, many scholars hold that in such a case only one divorce is counted.
Among those scholars are:
✿ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
✿ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله
✿ Ḥāfiẓ Gondalwi رحمه الله
◈ Method of Reconciliation
Whether the divorce is counted as one or two:
✿ If the ʿiddah is ongoing, reconciliation (rujūʿ) is possible without a new nikāḥ.
✿ If the ʿiddah has ended, reconciliation is possible only through a new nikāḥ.
◈ Qur’ānic Evidence
Allah Taʿālā says:
﴿وَبُعُولَتُهُنَّ أَحَقُّ بِرَدِّهِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ إِنۡ أَرَادُوٓاْ إِصۡلَٰحٗاۚ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 228)
“And their husbands have the better right to take them back during that [ʿiddah], if they desire reconciliation.”
And He says:
﴿وَإِذَا طَلَّقۡتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَبَلَغۡنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعۡضُلُوهُنَّ أَن يَنكِحۡنَ أَزۡوَٰجَهُنَّ إِذَا تَرَٰضَوۡاْ بَيۡنَهُم بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِۗ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 232)
“And when you divorce women and they reach the end of their waiting period, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they mutually agree on reasonable terms.”
❀ Conclusion
✿ If the divorces are counted as one, reconciliation is possible during the ʿiddah.
✿ If they are counted as two, reconciliation is still possible during the ʿiddah.
✿ If the ʿiddah has ended, reconciliation is only possible through a new nikāḥ.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
