for a divorce to take effect upon her. Therefore, we say: she is divorced at the end of the life of whichever of them dies first.

If he says, “Whenever I do not divorce you,” or, “When I do not divorce you,” or, “At whatever time I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,” and enough time passes in which he could have effected the divorce but does not do so, she is divorced. If he says, “Whenever I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,” and enough time passes in which three divorces could have been pronounced successively, the consummated wife is divorced three times, while a wife whose marriage has not been consummated is irrevocably separated by the first divorce. Likewise, if he says, “If you stand and then sit,” or, “If you stand, then sit,” or, “If you sit when you stand,” or, “If you sit if you stand, then you are divorced,” she is not divorced until she stands and then sits. ...

His statement, “If he says, ‘Whenever I do not divorce you,’ or, ‘When I do not divorce you,’ or, ‘At whatever time I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,’ and enough time passes in which he could have effected the divorce but does not do so, she is divorced,” is because the conditional particles, other than in (if), when used with lam (not), indicate immediate effect. Thus, if he says, “Whenever I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,” and enough time passes in which he could say, “You are divorced,” but he does not do so, she is divorced, because it is then true that he has not divorced her.

His statement, “If he says, ‘Whenever I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,’ and enough time passes in which three divorces could have been pronounced successively, the consummated wife is divorced three times,” means that if he says, “Whenever I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,” and enough time passes for three successive pronouncements of divorce, she is divorced three times, because kullamā (whenever) denotes repetition.

Accordingly, if he uses such a formula, we say: it is better for you simply to say at once, “You are divorced.” For if he says, “You are divorced,” the divorce is revocable, since only one divorce takes effect and not all three. This is because he said, “Whenever I do not divorce you, then you are divorced,” and once he says, “You are divorced,” he has fulfilled his oath. But if he does not do so, then whenever enough time passes for him to say, “You are divorced,” she is divorced; then, when a second such period passes, she is divorced; and then, when a third such period passes, she is divorced—because kullamā (whenever) denotes repetition.