Signed divorce papers thinking that they are not the final papers
13-3-2007 | IslamWeb
Question:
i have a serious problem regarding divorse.my father put four papers in front of me.it was written i mr shafiq divorse my wife(name) daughter of xyz and resident of xyz. i signed those four papers.it was the demand of my in law's then.now when i saw the papers ,before signing them, the date was of feb 2007.i told my dad that the dates are required to be changed.then i signed the papers keeping in mind that its not final since a new forum has to be made with different dates. later i realized and changed my mind.i did not deliver the papers to my wife,neither does she or her family know it.i signed the papers in front of my father and mother. since my action occoured under two circumstances.first i knew its not the final paper since it has the date problem.secondly i knew i have to deliver it to her for tlaq to take into effect. tell me by signing those four paprs,has talaq happened.how many talaqs.can i revert back to my wife now. wat is the concept with reference to imam ibn e taiymma and others.will i be held responcible on the day of judgement on following imam ibn e tayimma because i want to revert back to my wife or the imam will answer in front of Allah.ur urgent reply will free me of further tension.
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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
According to the most preponderant opinion of the scholars 
writing the word divorce is one of the metaphors of divorce. In this case, divorce does not take place unless the husband intended it, or that he uttered the word divorce when writing it. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 89894 and 87034.
Therefore, this depends on your intention when signing those papers. As regards them not being final or that they will be changed, or believing that divorce will not take place unless you send them to your wife, then all this does not have any effect. If you intended to divorce your wife while signing those papers, then your wife is divorced three times according to the view of the majority of the scholars . In this case, the divorce is irrevocable unless you only meant to confirm the first divorce by the other divorces and you did not want to initiate a new divorce, in which case it is only considered as one divorce. In this case, it is permissible to take back your wife without a new marriage contract as long as she is still in her waiting period. The chosen view of Ibn Taymiyyah 
is that three divorces in one session are considered as one divorce.
If someone chooses this opinion as the preponderant opinion, or if he is imitating whoever adopts it, then he has a sound excuse. If we presume that divorce has taken place, then what should be taken into account is the date on which it occurred and not the date which is on the papers.
Finally, it should be noted that it is more appropriate to take the case to an Islamic court, as the court is more capable of investigating its circumstances and issue an appropriate ruling.
Allaah Knows best.