The hidden allusive expressions include: “Leave,” “Go,” “Taste,” “Gulp it down,” “Observe your waiting period,” “Perform istibraʾ,” “Separate yourself,” “You are not my wife,” “Go back to your family,” and similar expressions. …

His statement, “Leave,” means: leave the house. Many people, when angry with their wives, say, “Leave,” without intending divorce; rather, they merely mean that she should go away from them. Nevertheless, they say that it is an allusive expression.

His statement, “Go,” is like “Leave.”

His statement, “Taste”: when uttered without any contextual indication, it is an allusive expression. Thus, if he says, “By my saying, ‘Taste,’ I intended divorce and the pain of separation,” his statement is accepted, because this is possible: anything that causes a person pain may be said of it, “Taste it,” as Allah Most High says: “Taste the punishment of the Fire.” [Al-Sajdah 32:20]

His statement, “Gulp it down,” is like “Taste,” for Allah Most High says concerning the punishment of the people of Hell: “He will gulp it down.” [Ibrahim 14:17]

His statement, “Observe your waiting period”: this is clear and evident, but it is not a clear allusive expression, because the waiting period is not confined to irrevocable separation. We have two waiting periods that do not entail irrevocable separation: those following the first and second divorces. Thus, if he says, “Observe your waiting period,” we say: it is evident that by the words “Observe your waiting period,” divorce is intended, since there is no waiting period except after divorce. Yet it is among the hidden allusive expressions, because “clear” does not mean clear in its ordinary linguistic sense; rather, a clear expression is one that can signify separation in an irrevocable sense, whereas “Observe your waiting period” does not indicate separation in an irrevocable sense.

His statement, “Perform istibraʾ,” is likewise among the hidden allusive expressions. The difference between this and “You are bariyyah (free of liability)” is that the latter means: free of the rights owed to the husband. A wife is not released from the rights owed to her husband in an absolute sense except through an irrevocable separation. But “Perform istibraʾ” is derived from