What is the ruling when a husband says, 'Every time I do not divorce you, you are divorced'?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If the marriage has been consummated (*madkhūl bihā*), three divorces occur immediately. The term 'every time' (*kullamā*) implies repetition, requiring the divorce to be repeated every time the condition (failure to divorce) is met. Upon the passage of a time period after the oath during which he could have divorced her but did not, the first divorce occurs, followed immediately by the second and third if consummation has occurred. If the marriage was not consummated, she is divorced once, and no further divorces follow because divorce does not apply to a woman who is irrevocably separated (*bā’in*).
Supporting text
If the wording is 'If I do not divorce you, you are divorced' (*idhā*), 'When I do not divorce you, you are divorced' (*matā*), or 'Whichever time I do not divorce you, you are divorced' (*ayyu waqt*), only one divorce occurs. 'Matā' is viewed by Abu Bakr as implying repetition like 'kullamā'. However, 'Matā' and 'Ayyu waqt' require immediate effect; if a time passes where he could have divorced her and did not, the single divorce occurs immediately. 'Idhā' has two views: immediate, like 'matā', or delayed, like 'in' (if). If delayed, the divorce occurs only at the end of the life of one of them, assuming no time was specified.