What is the ruling when a man says to one wife: 'If you swear by divorcing your co-wife, she is divorced,' and then says the same to the other wife?

Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others

Al-Mughni

Book of Divorce

Book 39 · Issue 3 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

Neither wife is divorced immediately. However, if he then repeats this declaration to one of them, the other wife is divorced. If he repeats it to the second wife, the first wife is divorced. This pattern continues: every time he repeats the declaration to one wife, the other is divorced, unless one of them is not yet consummated or does not have three divorces remaining, in which case she becomes like a stranger upon her separation.

Supporting text

If he initially said this to one wife and then repeated it to her, her co-wife is divorced with each repetition, up to three times.