Talaq by Placing a Thumbprint on a Blank Sheet

Question

A certain man was pleaded with for some time to give talaq; in the end, with great difficulty, while acknowledging the talaq, he put his thumbprint for the talaq, but no talaq at all was pronounced orally. Owing to the shortness of time, no text of the talaq and the like was written, because the people in this area are mostly illiterate; the scribe took the thumbprints of the man giving talaq and of the witnesses and left. Has talaq taken effect in this case or not?

Answer

If he neither pronounced talaq with his tongue nor admitted talaq with his tongue, but merely placed his thumb on a blank sheet of paper, then talaq has not taken effect thereby. But if he pronounced talaq on his wife with his tongue, or admitted talaq with his tongue, or said to the scribe, “Write a divorce deed and write the talaq on my behalf,” then in all these cases talaq…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.