even though he himself does not regard the marriage as valid, someone else may regard it as valid. If he separates from her without divorcing her, and another man who regards the marriage as valid seeks to marry her, he will not marry her. Thus, divorce is valid in a marriage whose validity is disputed, even if the divorcing husband does not consider it valid, because if he does not divorce her, he will leave this woman unable to marry.
If someone asks: Why does the divorce take effect when he does not regard the marriage as valid, while divorce is contingent upon marriage? We say: So that he does not bar her from marrying another, for someone who considers the marriage valid may wish to marry her. If this husband does not divorce her, no one else will marry her, because he considers her still bound to him in marriage. Hence, the author says: “Divorce takes effect in a marriage whose validity is disputed.” It states in al-Rawd: “Even if the divorcing husband does not consider it valid.” (1)
And [the divorce issued] by an angry person, …
His statement: “And [the divorce issued] by an angry person.” The scholars of speculative theology have defined anger as “the boiling of the heart’s blood in pursuit of revenge.” Apparently, this definition only makes the matter more obscure and ambiguous. Had we simply said, “Anger is well known,” that would have been clearer. It is recognized by signs to which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, referred when he said: “Anger is a burning ember kindled in the human heart. Have you not seen the redness of his eyes and the swelling of his jugular veins?” (2) Thus, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, defined it by its origin and its effects. Its origin is a burning ember that Satan casts into the heart of the son of Adam—a heat