What is the ruling regarding divorce issued using ambiguous terms (kinayat)?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
Divorce pronounced using ambiguous terms (*kinayat*) is revocable (*raj'i*), unless three such pronouncements are made, according to the apparent position of the Madhhab. This is supported by the view of Al-Shafi'i. The evidence for this position is that divorce by ambiguous terms, when applied to a consummated wife without compensation or exhausting the count of divorces, must be revocable, just as explicit divorce (*sarih*) and other agreed-upon ambiguous terms are revocable.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa holds that all divorces pronounced using ambiguous terms are definitive and irrevocable (*ba'in*), except for specific phrases such as 'Wait (*i'taddi*)', 'Examine your womb (*istabri'i rahmaki*)', and 'You are one (*anti wahida*)'. This exception exists because these specific phrases imply finality (*baynuna*), similar to the explicit statement 'You are divorced three times'.