What is the ruling if a wife tells her husband, 'Divorce your wives,' and he replies, 'My wives are divorced'?
Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
If a wife instructs her husband, 'Divorce your wives,' and he says, 'My wives are divorced,' all his wives are considered divorced. The ruling follows the general nature of the utterance, and acting upon the generality of the wording takes precedence over the specificity of the cause (the request), as the wording itself is the evidence for the ruling.
Supporting text
Malik narrated that the wife who made the initial request is not divorced in this scenario because a general address is restricted to its specific cause, which is her request for the divorce of others (or divorce in general, excluding herself based on context), according to this opinion.