What is the ruling when a husband says to four wives, 'I have cast between you one divorce'?
Chapter on Divorce by Calculation
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
When a husband states to four of his wives, "I have cast between you one divorce" (أوقعت بينكن طلقة), each woman is divorced once. This is the position held by Al-Hasan, Al-Shafi'i, Ibn al-Qasim, Abu Ubayd, and the Ahl al-Ra'y (the scholars of opinion). The evidence is that the utterance implies dividing the single divorce among them, resulting in each receiving a fraction, which then completes itself. If he says, "Between you one divorce" (بينكن طلقة), the ruling is the same, as stated explicitly by Ahmad. This is because the meaning is "I have cast one divorce among you."
Supporting text
If he says, "I have cast two divorces between you" (أوقعت بينكن طلقتين), each woman receives one divorce, according to Abu al-Khattab, which is also the opinion of Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i. However, Abu Bakr and Al-Qadi hold that each woman is divorced twice. This is supported by a narration from Ahmad regarding a man who said he cast three divorces among them, where Ahmad indicated the divorce occurred to the extent of certainty. The rationale for the primary view is based on applying the ruling to certainty (al-yaqin) over that which involves doubt (al-shakk), thus avoiding an additional divorce based on uncertainty. Furthermore, divorces are considered indivisible units like money rather than divisible parts like land. If he intended to divide each divorce, the view of Abu Bakr applies.