No taking back (ruju‘) after three talaqs

Question

Question: A man pronounced talaq once and took his wife back (ruju‘); he pronounced talaq a second time, and then, after the ‘idda — indeed after two years had passed — he contracted a fresh nikah with the same woman for a mahr. This man says: “After marrying her the second time, there have been, as it happens, many quarrels so far and I threatened talaq; indeed, who knows how many times the words came out in anger; but two weeks ago I used words of talaq in explicit (sarih) terms.

Answer

When, after pronouncing talaq once, the wife is taken back (ruju‘), and then, after pronouncing talaq a second time, she is taken back again, then after the third talaq the option of taking back no longer remains. Even after pronouncing two talaqs at once, the right of taking back remains.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.