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Her husband sent her a three divorce SMS before consummating marriage with her

Question

Assalam-o-Alaikum Mufti Sahib : I am suffering from a severe problem. My nikah was solemnized a year before but this marriage was not consummated. My husband went to Canada after one hour of our Nikah. We never met alone and this marriage was not consummated. Due to some problems which raised and could not be settled down. In October my husband said through an email that divorce paper are ready and I will send u soon. Last month I received a divorce deed from my husband containing the statement " Now this deed witness that, I the said do hereby divorce Almas Rashid pronouncing upon her Talak, Talak and Talak and by serving all connections of husband and wife with her forever and for good" The date written on divorce papers was 16th October and I received them on 24th December.
Is the procedure of divorce is same just like normal divorce case as this marriage was not consummated (without any sexual relationship)?
Is in such case its one divorce or it will be considered as tripple divorce.
Is any re-conciliation possible?
If problems settle, can I re-marry with the same person without any intervening marriage?
Anxiously waiting for the answer

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

Writing the words divorce is one of the metaphors of divorce in which divorce does not take place unless the husband intended it; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 90687.

If a husband repeats three times the words of divorce in one session to his wife with whom he did not consummate the marriage and the wording was not continuous, like if he separates between them with conjunction and the like, as in the above case, then the wife becomes irrevocably divorced with the first divorce, and the second and third divorce are not effective because the husband issued them to an alien (non-wife) woman and so they do not take effect.

Al-Hattaab  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him from the Maaliki School of jurisprudence, said: “…..the word “continuous” here is to mean that if giving the three divorces is not continuous (i.e. without a separation between them), then it is considered only one divorce according to the agreement of the scholars, as she (the wife) became irrevocably divorced from him (the husband) with the first divorce, so the second divorce is not effective [does not take effect as she is no longer his wife].

It should be noted that the jurists  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them stated that if the husband is absent and he sent a letter of divorce to his wife, then divorce cannot be confirmed unless two witnesses testify that this is his writing; this is what Ibn Qudaamah  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him stated in his book “Al-Mughni”.

Finally, we advise you to take the matter to an Islamic court as it is the judge who may investigate the matter whereas a Mufti is not able to do so.

Allaah Knows best.

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