A husband should not have the word “divorce” constantly on his lips, invoking it whenever a misunderstanding arises between him and his wife. Divorce is a measure that is to be used only when there is a real need and necessity for it.
For a man to bandy the word about without justification, and then find himself in difficulty and go around seeking legal opinions, is a grave matter that places both the husband and the mufti in an awkward situation.
As for what happened in your case: if the anger that seized you was so overpowering that you lost awareness and no longer knew what you were saying, then your words carry no legal effect. If, however, your anger was less than that, and you remained conscious and understood what you were saying, then we look to your intention.
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If your purpose in uttering those words was merely to prevent yourself from entering upon your wife and having marital relations with her during the period you specified, the ruling is that of an oath. You must therefore make the expiation for breaking an oath: emancipate a slave, or feed ten needy people, or clothe ten needy people—you may choose any of these three options. Emancipation is preferred if possible; otherwise feed or clothe them. Feeding means giving each needy person half a sāʿ (roughly 1.5 kg) of the staple food of your country; clothing means giving each person a garment sufficient for prayer. Anything more than that is even better. If you are unable to do any of these three, you must fast three days.
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If, on the other hand, your intention in pronouncing divorce was actually to effect a divorce—meaning that your wife would be divorced should you go back to her during that period—then it is indeed a divorce. If you then violate that condition, the divorce takes effect; and because you repeated the statement three times, it constitutes an irrevocable divorce, amounting to three pronouncements, unless your repetition was merely for emphasis and not meant