and the dispute concerns only divorce pronounced by a man who can retain his wife. Moreover, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, separated the couple. If that separation preceded the three pronouncements, no divorce took effect, whether three or otherwise. If it followed them, this indicates that the marriage had remained in force. What is known is that he separated them after the husband had pronounced three divorces. This indicates that the three divorces did not take effect, for otherwise she would have become unlawful to him until she married another husband. It would then have been impossible for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to separate them, since they were no longer married to one another.

The most that could be argued, however, is: “He made her permanently unlawful to him.” The reply is: “In that case, he should have declared her unlawful to him, rather than separated them.” His separating them therefore indicates that the marriage had remained in force and that all three divorces had not taken effect. This differs from saying that a single revocable divorce took effect, for in that case he could still separate them.

Sahl ibn Saʿd’s statement, “He divorced her three times, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave effect to it against him,” indicates that this required the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to give it effect, and that this was specific to the husband involved in mutual imprecation. Had his legislation provided that three pronouncements made her unlawful, there would have been nothing specific to that husband, nor any need to give the pronouncement effect. This therefore indicates that, when the husband intended by pronouncing three divorces to make her unlawful to him, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave effect to his intention—indeed, went beyond it. For the prohibition resulting from mutual imprecation is more stringent than that resulting from divorce: the former is not lifted even if she marries another husband. According to one of the two scholarly views, it is permanent and is not lifted by repentance.

The majority also argued that the Glorious Quran indicates that Allah has permitted only revocable divorce, and only divorce timed to the waiting period, as in His words, Exalted is He:

“O Prophet, when you divorce women