What is the ruling for divorce euphemisms where the effect is ambiguous or conditional?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
For euphemisms where the effect is conditional or ambiguous, which are categorized into two types, the ruling often defaults to the husband's intention. For the type analogous to the explicitly mentioned ones, two narrations exist from Ahmad: either three divorces occur, or the ruling refers to the husband's intention, being one if no specific intention is made, consistent with all other euphemisms. The argument for one divorce is that the meaning, such as 'You are permitted to husbands,' implies completion after the waiting period, which a single divorce fulfills. Likewise, statements like 'Marry whomever you wish' acquire their full meaning only after the 'iddah is completed.
Supporting text
The second type of ambiguous euphemism is derived by analogy from the first, including 'Seek purity for your womb' and 'You are permitted to husbands.' Furthermore, the view that the Prophet's statement to Sawdah ('اعتدي' - Observe 'iddah) resulted in one divorce, and the correspondence between a man who said 'You are forbidden to me' after two divorces and Umar ibn al-Khattab, supports the position that these ambiguous terms do not inherently imply three divorces.