What is the legal consequence if the husband intended divorce when saying, 'You are forbidden to me'?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If the husband intended divorce when stating, "You are forbidden to me," a ruling supported by reports concerning Imam Ahmad is that it constitutes a single revocable divorce (Talaq Raj'i). This view is also related from Umar ibn Al-Khattab and Al-Zuhri. This is because divorce is a type of prohibition, so the term can be used as an allusion (kinayah) to it, similar to saying, "You are irrevocably separated (Bain)." If the phrase is interpreted as an allusion to divorce and the intention to divorce is present, it carries the ruling of explicit allusions to divorce.
Supporting text
There is a view attributed to Imam Ahmad that if he intended divorce, it is one divorce. Some scholars, including Ali, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Hurayrah, and Al-Hasan Al-Basri, held that it constitutes a triple divorce (Thalath). Malik holds this opinion concerning a wife with whom consummation has already taken place.