Is it permissible for me to take my wife back after I swore to divorce her with a triple divorce if she went down with her family, and she did go down, then I told her over the phone, "You are divorced by three," and I confirmed to her uncle that "she is divorced by three and forbidden to me until the Day of Judgment," knowing that my intention was to discipline her and I was unaware of the occurrence of a triple divorce if I uttered it in one phrase?
If the intention of "writing the marriage contract" (katb al-kitab) means that the marriage contract has been concluded with all its pillars, then the woman has become a wife, and the ruling on uttered divorce is as follows:
- According to the majority of scholars (including the four madhhabs) - and this is the most preponderant and the fatwa given: The suspension of the triple divorce upon her descending, and her subsequent descent, results in the occurrence of the triple divorce. Consequently, she becomes unlawful for you until she marries another husband in a marriage of desire and he divorces her after consummation. No other divorce after that occurs due to the absence of a valid object. - According to Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: The suspended triple divorce is not binding if you did not intend divorce but rather discipline. You are bound by a single divorce due to the triple divorce via phone. Since it was before consummation, your wife has become irrevocably divorced, and she is not lawful for you except with a new contract. The subsequent divorce and prohibition you uttered do not occur.
It should be noted that frequently swearing by divorce is forbidden due to its mockery of Allah's rulings.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/111594