Does divorce occur if a speaking person writes it down without the intention of divorce?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
There are two reported narrations regarding divorce by writing without intention. One narration holds that divorce occurs, following Al-Sha'bi, Al-Nakha'i, Al-Zuhri, and Al-Hakam, based on the principle that writing consists of letters implying divorce. The second, established by Abu Hanifa, Malik, and explicitly by Al-Shafi'i, is that divorce does not occur without intention because writing is ambiguous and may be done merely to test the pen or improve handwriting, similar to the ambiguous pronouncements of divorce.
Supporting text
If the writer claims his intention was to grieve his family ('agham ahlihi') by writing the divorce, one view suggests the divorce takes effect because grieving the family accompanies the actual occurrence of divorce, aligning with the concept of accountability for actions or speech intended to cause grief. Another view suggests it does not take effect because he intended the feeling of divorce without the legal reality, meaning he did not intend the divorce itself, and accountability only applies when intention accompanies actual speech or action.