What is the legal consequence if a husband says to his wife, 'You are divorced one, unless you desire three,' and the wife states, 'I have desired three'?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
Abu Bakr asserts that three divorces occur. The opinion held by the companions of Shafi'i and Abu Hanifa states that no divorce occurs. Their reasoning is that an exception stated against an affirmation functions as a negation. Therefore, the statement is equivalent to 'You are divorced one, unless you desire three, so you are not divorced,' or that since three divorces would not occur based solely on her desire without the condition, stating 'three' as a description of her desire that would negate the single divorce renders the condition inoperative, similar to saying 'You are divorced unless you repeat [the act] three times by your will.'
Supporting text
The view of Al-Qadi presents two possibilities: one where no divorce occurs, based on the reasoning above, and another where three divorces occur because the immediate understanding of the statement implies the enactment of three divorces upon her desire, analogous to cases involving conditional exceptions that confirm the substance of the condition when invoked, supported by the Hadith regarding the two sellers' option unless it is a 'sale of option' (Bay' al-Khiyar).