Mujahid said: I was with Ibn 'Abbas when a man came and said, "Indeed, he has divorced his wife by three pronouncements." He said: He kept silent until I thought that he was going to restore her to him. Then he said: One of you sets off, rides the foolish thing, and then says, "O Ibn 'Abbas! O Ibn 'Abbas!" And indeed Allah has said,
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way outand indeed you did not fear Allah, so I do not find a way out for you; you have disobeyed your Lord and your wife has become separated from you. And indeed Allah has said,
O Prophet, when you [and the believers] divorce women, divorce them for their prescribed period.
Abu Dawud said: Humaid al-A'raj and others narrated this hadith from Mujahid from Ibn 'Abbas. Shu'bah narrated it from 'Amr ibn Murrah from Sa'id ibn Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas. Ayyub and Ibn Jurayj both narrated it from 'Ikrimah ibn Khalid from Sa'id ibn Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas. Ibn Jurayj narrated it from 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Rafi' from 'Ata' from Ibn 'Abbas. Al-A'mash narrated it from Malik ibn al-Harith from Ibn 'Abbas, and Ibn Jurayj from 'Amr ibn Dinar from Ibn 'Abbas. All of them said concerning the triple divorce that he permitted it and said, "Your wife has become separated from you," similar to the hadith of Isma'il from Ayyub from 'Abdullah ibn Kathir.
Abu Dawud said: Hammad ibn Zaid narrated from Ayyub from 'Ikrimah from Ibn 'Abbas, "When he says, 'You are divorced thrice' in a single utterance, it is one [divorce]." Isma'il ibn Ibrahim narrated it from Ayyub from 'Ikrimah with this statement; he did not mention Ibn 'Abbas and made it the statement of 'Ikrimah.
Hadith Commentary: Sunan Abi Dawud 2197 - Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)
This narration addresses the critical matter of triple divorce pronounced in a single sitting, wherein Ibn 'Abbas initially maintained the position that such a pronouncement constituted an irrevocable separation. He rebuked the man for his folly, emphasizing that divine assistance is contingent upon piety, quoting Surah At-Talaq, verse 2. The man's failure to observe God's ordinances precluded any legal recourse for reconciliation, resulting in the finality of the divorce.
Scholarly Perspectives on Triple Divorce
The various chains of transmission (asnad) cited by Abu Dawud reveal a diversity of scholarly opinion. While Ibn 'Abbas's initial stance treated a triple declaration as a single, revocable divorce—a position upheld by narrators like 'Ikrimah—other transmissions indicate he later regarded it as an irrevocable triple divorce. This reflects the evolution of legal interpretation (ijtihad) among the Companions.
The distinction lies in whether the three pronouncements were made successively in one session or as a single declaration. The latter view, attributed to 'Ikrimah, considers it a single divorce, allowing for revocation during the waiting period ('iddah). This aligns with the Qur'anic injunction in Surah At-Talaq, verse 1, to divorce women at the beginning of their 'iddah, implying a revocable process.
Legal Implications and Modern Application
Classical scholars diverged on this issue: the Hanafi school considered triple divorce in one session binding and irrevocable, while the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools viewed it as a single revocable divorce. Contemporary legal reforms in many Muslim-mandated countries have adopted the latter position to prevent hasty marital dissolution, in keeping with the Qur'anic spirit of preserving family unity.
This hadith underscores the principle that legal consequences follow from one's actions. The man's impulsive pronouncement, contrary to the prescribed gradual process of divorce, led to severe marital consequences, illustrating the wisdom behind Islam's meticulous legislation on family matters.