What is the ruling when a wife tells her husband, 'Divorce me,' and he replies, 'My wives are divorced,' with no intention?

Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others

Al-Mughni

Book of Divorce

Book 39 · Issue 1 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

When a wife tells her husband, 'Divorce me,' and he responds, 'My wives are divorced,' with no specific intention, all of his wives are divorced. This ruling has no scholarly disagreement because the expression used is general in scope. This ruling is established based on the generality of the utterance, which must be acted upon according to its literal meaning.