what he intended.” (1) Thus, if he says to his wife, “You are free,” “You are released,” “You are irrevocably separated,” or the like, intending one divorce, then only one divorce takes effect.
It is also said that only one divorce takes effect through an evident allusive expression unless he intends more. This is not the same as the second view.
According to the established position of the school, three divorces take effect even if he intended one.
According to the second view, three take effect unless he intended one.
According to the third view, one takes effect unless he intended three. Thus, if he says, “You are free,” without intending anything in particular, one divorce takes effect according to the third view, whereas three take effect according to the second view—and, all the more so, according to the first. If he says, “You are free,” intending one divorce, then one takes effect according to the third and second views, while three take effect according to the first. It is thus clear that there is a difference between the three views. However, the correct view is that only one divorce takes effect, even if he intended three, because we say that divorce is not repeated unless it is actually repeated, and it cannot actually be repeated except when it concerns a wife who has not already been divorced.
In summary, there are two issues here. The first is whether divorce takes effect through an allusive expression; the second is how many divorces take effect through it. According to the established position of the school, regarding the first issue, divorce takes effect through it either by intention or by contextual indication. The author mentioned three forms of contextual indication: anger, a dispute, and an answer to a question.
As for the second issue, the established position of the school is that an evident allusive expression results in three divorces, thereby constituting a final, major irrevocable separation; whereas a subtle allusive expression results in whatever number he intended. The correct view, however, is that whether the allusive expression is evident or subtle, only one divorce takes effect, even if he intended more.