hyperbole, as though she herself were divorce. They say, for example, “a man who is justice itself” and “a man who is contentment itself,” making the man the very verbal noun itself. Here, likewise, the wife is made to be divorce itself. Or we may say that divorce is a verbal noun construed in the sense of another word, and a verbal noun may be construed as either an active participle or a passive participle. An example of the active participle is Allah’s saying: “But the righteous person is one who believes in Allah and the Last Day” [2:177]—that is, “But the one who is righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day.” An example of the passive participle is the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “Whoever does an action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours, it is rejected” (1)—that is, rejected.
His statement, “or ‘divorced’”: In another version, it reads, “You are divorce.” If he says, “You are divorced,” then “divorced” is an active participle. If he intends three divorces by it, three take effect; if he does not intend three, then one takes effect; and if he has no particular intention, then one takes effect.
His statement, “or ‘upon me’”: If he says, “Divorce is binding upon me,” he has imposed it upon himself, so it resembles a vow. Thus, if he says this, his wife is divorced three times if he intends three; if he does not intend three, then it is one. This is the view adopted by the author.
Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an oath according to the consensus of those versed in language and customary usage; it is not a divorce.
Others have said—and this is the more correct view—that it has no legal effect when he does not mention what it relates to. For his statement, “Divorce is binding upon me,” is a commitment: if it is merely a declarative statement reporting a commitment, then the divorce does not take effect; and if it is an actual commitment, then likewise it does not take effect except when its cause exists—such as if he says, “It is binding upon me to sell this house,”