What is the ruling when a man states to each wife that if he divorces one of her co-wives, she too is divorced?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If a man states to each wife: Whenever I divorce one of your two co-wives, you are divorced. If he divorces the first wife, she is divorced three times, the second wife twice, and the third wife once. This is because the divorce of the first wife is the condition for the divorce of her two co-wives. The resulting divorces upon the co-wives constitute initiating divorces for the first wife, as they result from a condition he established after conditioning her divorce upon their divorces. Thus, she receives one divorce from each co-wife's resulting divorce, completing three. The second wife receives a second divorce from the third wife's resulting divorce for the same reason, but the third wife receives nothing from their conditionally occurring divorces, as those are not initiating divorces in her regard.
Supporting text
If he divorces the second wife, she is divorced twice, the first wife three times, and the third wife once. If he divorces the third wife, the first wife is divorced twice, and each of the remaining two wives is divorced once.