Doubt About the Number of Talaqs

Question

What do you say, may Allah Most High have mercy on you, in the following case: a man named ‘Abd al-Jalil used to be occupied during the day with household needs, and after maghrib he would get a fever — such was his condition. One day after maghrib he got a fever; he called his wife to attend to him — she did not come. He said: “ترا ایک طلاق دادم” (“I have given you one talaq”).

Answer

If ‘Abd al-Jalil, while in his senses, gave one talaq and knows with confidence that he gave one talaq and did not give three talaqs, and there is no witness at all other than his son, then judicially (qada’an) three talaqs will not take effect; rather, one talaq will take effect. Nevertheless, if his son informed his wife of three talaqs, and he is upright (‘adil)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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