What is the requirement for the husband's use of the phrase 'Your affair is in your hands' (amraki bi-yadik) to effect divorce?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
The phrase, 'Your affair is in your hands' (amraki bi-yadik), and 'Choose for yourself' (ikhtari nafsik) are figures of speech (kinayah) regarding the husband's pronouncement. They require a specific intention (niyyah) or contextual indication (dalalat al-hal) to effect divorce, just like all other figures of speech. If intention or context is absent, divorce does not occur because these phrases are not explicit. This is the view held by Abu Hanifah and Al-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
Malik holds that intention is not required because these phrases are among the clear figures of speech. Al-Shafi'i also holds that if the wife accepts the pronouncement using a figure of speech, it is a figure of speech concerning her as well.