932 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “Abū Rukānah divorced Umm Rukānah, whereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told him, ‘Take your wife back.’ He replied, ‘I have divorced her three times.’ The Prophet said, ‘I know that—still, take her back.’” Reported by Abū Dāwūd.

In another wording recorded by Aḥmad: “Rukānah divorced his wife three times in a single sitting, then felt great sorrow over it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, ‘It counts as one.’” Both their chains include Ibn Isḥāq, about whom there is some discussion.

Abū Dāwūd also transmitted—through a route superior to the previous one—that “Rukānah divorced his wife Suhaymah with the formula al-batta (irrevocably). He later informed the Prophet ﷺ of this and said, ‘By Allah, I only intended one divorce.’ The Prophet ﷺ therefore restored her to him.”(1)

Grade of the ḥadith:
This ḥadith is weak.

The scholars have differed over it: some authenticated it and acted upon it, while others deemed it weak and followed contrary reports. Their disagreement over the ḥadith led to a divergence in the legal ruling derived from it.

Those who upheld its authenticity said: Abū Dāwūd declared, “This report is sounder than the narration of Ibn Jurayj in which it is stated that Rukānah divorced his wife three times.”

Ibn Mājah said: “I heard al-Ṭanafasi remark, ‘How noble this ḥadith is!’”