whenever he wishes, whether he divorces her or not. If they dispute whether he gave them to her as her property or merely permitted her to use them, and no established custom settles the matter, his word is accepted upon his swearing that he did not transfer ownership to her. If they dispute whether he gave her anything at all, and there is no evidence upon which judgment may be given in his favour—neither a single witness, nor an admission, nor anything else—her word is accepted upon her swearing that he gave her nothing.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was also asked:

A man sold some of his belongings, and his wife quarrelled with him because he had sold them. Ill feeling arose between them over this. While they were quarrelling, some of her relatives arrived, and the man told those present: “If this woman will not behave like other people, I shall leave her and marry someone else.”

He then said: “If you hand your document over to this man for me, you are divorced three times.” His intention was that she should release him from liability. She became angry and gave the document to the man. Does the divorce take effect or not?

He answered:

If he intended the document to be handed over as a release from liability, but she merely handed it over without releasing him from the obligation it recorded, no divorce takes effect thereby.

And if he says, “I intended the handing over in that sense”—for his only purpose is release from liability, and surrendering the dowry document prevents a claim based upon it, whereas merely depositing it for safekeeping serves no purpose for him. Allah knows best.