What is the ruling when a man says to his wives, 'One of you is divorced tomorrow,' and tomorrow arrives?
Chapter on Divorce by Calculation
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
When a man states to his wives, 'One of you is divorced tomorrow,' and the specified day arrives, exactly one of them becomes divorced. The specific wife is determined by casting lots (al-qur'ah). If the husband dies before tomorrow arrives, all the wives inherit from him because the divorce has not yet taken effect. If one of the wives dies before tomorrow, the surviving wives inherit from her, as she died before the divorce occurred. When tomorrow arrives, lots are cast among the surviving wives and the estate of the deceased wife. If the lot falls upon the deceased wife, none of the living wives are divorced, and the statement becomes equivalent to specifying that particular wife by saying, 'You are divorced tomorrow.'
Supporting text
The judge holds that the principle of the madhhab dictates that the divorce must fall upon one of the living wives. Thus, if there were two wives and one died, the other would be divorced, similar to the case where a man tells his wife and a non-relative woman, 'One of you is divorced.' This view aligns with Abu Hanifa because the non-relative woman was not a subject of divorce at the time of the utterance, whereas the co-wife was a potential subject, making the intent applicable to her, and her death does not nullify the divorce possibility for the other wife; thus, the other remains subject to the original declaration.