What is the ruling on someone who says to his wife: "I have divorced you twice, and this is the third divorce," in cases where no divorce has actually occurred, or only one revocable divorce has occurred, or two divorces have actually occurred?

If a man says to his wife: "I have divorced you twice, and this is the third divorce," there are several scenarios:

If he had previously divorced her twice: The third divorce takes effect, and she becomes irrevocably divorced from him with a major separation (baynunah kubra). She is not permissible for him unless she marries another man, he consummates the marriage with her, and then divorces her or dies, and her waiting period (iddah) ends. If he had not divorced her previously and uttered this phrase as an initial pronouncement: All three divorces take effect. If he had previously divorced her once and intended to lie by saying "I have divorced you twice": Scholars differ on this. The Malikis and Hanbalis rule that the divorce takes effect, while the Hanafis and Shafi'is rule that it does not take effect religiously (diyanatan). The preponderant view is that it does not take effect religiously. In this case, two divorces take effect on his wife: the first previous one, and the second by his statement "and this is the third." If he had not divorced her previously and intended to lie: Only one divorce takes effect.

In the latter two cases (two divorces or one divorce), the husband may take his wife back during her waiting period (iddah).