Is the delegation of divorce power to the wife permanent or restricted to the immediate session?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
When the husband delegates the authority to divorce herself to his wife, that authority remains with her perpetually and is not restricted to the immediate session (majlis). This is supported by the action of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who gave his wives the choice, and the narration from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding a man who placed the matter in his wife's hand, stating it remained hers until she faltered. This position is adopted by Al-Hakam, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir.
Supporting text
Malik, Al-Shafi'i, and the Ashab al-Ra'i hold that this delegation is restricted to the immediate session, similar to the utterance 'Choose' (Ikhtari), because it is a choice given to her, which should be session-bound. However, the view that it is perpetual is affirmed by Ali's statement having no known dissent among the Companions, implying consensus (Ijma). Furthermore, it is a type of delegation (tawkil) in divorce, thus it should be successive (ala at-tarākhi), unlike the conditional choice.