This is the reverse of the first case in its rulings. If he makes one pronouncement of divorce contingent upon her being pregnant with a male, and two pronouncements upon her being pregnant with a female, and she gives birth to both, she is divorced three times. But if he says instead, “If your pregnancy,” or “what is in your womb,” she is not divorced on account of either of them.

His statement, “This is the reverse of the first case in its rulings”: it says in al-Rawḍ (1): “If she gives birth after more than four years, she is divorced, because it becomes clear to us that she was not pregnant. The same applies if she gives birth after more than six months while he has intercourse with her, because the basic presumption is that she is not pregnant.” We say: this issue is the reverse of the first in its rulings because it is its reverse in form. The first is, “If you are pregnant,” while the second is, “If you are not pregnant.” Thus, the determining period is four years, since that is the maximum duration of pregnancy. If four years pass without her giving birth, and she then gives birth after the four years, we know that the divorce took effect, because—according to the jurists—it is impossible for a pregnancy to last more than four years. If she gives birth after more than six months while he has intercourse with her—despite its being prohibited for him if she is irrevocably divorced—then in this case she is not divorced, because we do not know that she was not pregnant, since the man has intercourse and she gives birth after more than six months.

The basic presumption is that she is not pregnant. Thus, if she gives birth in less than six months, she is not divorced at all, whether he has intercourse with her or not, because he said, “If you are not pregnant,” whereas we are certain that she was pregnant, since the minimum duration of pregnancy is six months.

His statement, “If he makes one pronouncement of divorce contingent upon her being pregnant with a male, and two pronouncements upon a female, and she gives birth to both, she is divorced three times”: he says, “If you are pregnant with a male, then you are divorced by one pronouncement; and if you are pregnant with a female, then you are divorced by two pronouncements,” because a male child is dearer to him than a female. But if the woman gives birth to twins—that is, a male and a female—she is divorced three times, because the male entails one pronouncement and the female entails two.