view and has followed his example.
Ahmad used to say:
“Beware of speaking on an issue without an imam to follow.”
His imam on this issue was Ibn ʿAbbās. Ahmad and others transmitted this view from Ibn ʿAbbās and his followers. It is thus clear that what matters, in their view, is that the woman offers compensation and requests separation. I have recorded their statements on this subject in the detailed discussion.
Furthermore, al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Ibn ʿAbbās:
“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke to Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās. He was the first man to conclude khulʿ during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. His wife had come to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said to him: ‘I find no fault with his character or religion, but I abhor disbelief after embracing Islam.’ She explained that she hated him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked her: ‘Will you return his garden to him?’ She replied: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Accept the garden and divorce her once.’”
It was Ibn ʿAbbās who narrated these words from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He also narrated:
“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed her to wait for one menstrual period to establish that she was not pregnant, and said: ‘No waiting period is required of you.’”
He also ruled that the divorce practised by the people of Yemen, which they called “release for compensation,” did not count as one of the three divorces. Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd had said to him: “Most divorces among the people of Yemen are releases for compensation.” He replied: “Release for compensation is not divorce; it is merely separation, but people have given it the wrong name.”
The questioner thus informed him that their divorce was release for compensation. This plainly indicates that it was effected using the word “divorce”; at the very least, it encompasses both the word “divorce” and other expressions. Ibn ʿAbbās gave an unqualified answer