What is the legal consequence of saying, 'You are the divorce' (أنت الطلاق) without specifying an intention?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If a husband says to his wife, 'You are the divorce' (أنت الطلاق), and he intended three divorces, three occur. If he intended one, one occurs. If he specified nothing, the statement from Ahmad suggests three divorces occur, as the phrasing is deemed definitive. This position is chosen by Abu Bakr.
Supporting text
It is possible that one divorce occurs based on the preceding ruling regarding 'You are divorced a divorce.' The basis for these two opinions is illuminated by a line of poetry where the speaker says, 'You are the divorce, and you are the divorce, and you are the divorce three times completely,' implying that repetition, not the definite article alone, established the count of three; otherwise, the meaning would have been nine if the article implied exhaustiveness.