Does divorce take effect if a husband says, 'You were divorced yesterday,' without stating an intention?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
The apparent ruling according to Ahmad is that the divorce does not take place when a husband says to his wife, 'You were divorced yesterday,' especially if he married her today. This view is held by Abu Bakr. The reasoning is that divorce is the revocation of permissibility, which cannot be revoked regarding a past time frame. It is analogous to saying, 'You are divorced two days before Zayd arrived,' when Zayd arrived today, in which case no divorce occurs according to our associates (Hanbali scholars). Furthermore, suspending divorce upon the impossible, such as saying, 'You are divorced if I turn the stone into gold,' renders the statement void.
Supporting text
Al-Qadi maintains that the divorce does take effect. This is the view of the Shafi'i school. The justification is that he described the divorce with something it cannot possess, thus the description is nullified and the divorce occurs, similar to stating, 'You are divorced according to the Sunnah' to one who has neither Sunnah nor Bid'ah (innovation), or saying, 'You are divorced with a divorce that does not obligate you.' Most Shafi'i scholars align with this opinion.