What is the ruling when a husband states 'You are divorced one, irrevocably' or 'one, absolutely'?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
There are three narrated opinions regarding the statement, 'You are divorced one irrevocably' or 'one absolutely'. The first opinion, held by Ahmad and attributed to Shafi'i, is that it counts as one revocable divorce, and whatever follows is void, as describing the divorce with an impossible attribute (irrevocability for a single pronouncement) nullifies the description. The second opinion states it is three divorces, arguing that the language implying three divorces overrides the mention of 'one'. The third narration from Hanbal states it counts as one irrevocable divorce, granting the wife the authority over her affairs, allowing the husband to increase her dowry if he wishes to take her back. This third view implies a single irrevocable divorce because if it were revocable, she would not have authority over her affairs, and if it were three, reconciliation would not be possible.
Supporting text
Abu al-Khattab suggests the third narration applies to all explicit euphemisms, equating it to the view of Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, where the separation attribute takes effect without exceeding one divorce because the wording did not imply a higher count, similar to simply saying, 'You are divorced.' The view of al-Qadi is that this narration applies after the completion of the waiting period ('iddah).