and Ishaq. Malik said: 'She becomes divorced once, and she has more authority over herself,' because he performed an act that requires her exit from his ownership, similar to if he had gifted her. Our argument is that the sale does not contain the meaning of divorce; for it is a transfer of ownership for compensation, while divorce is a mere annulment that does not require compensation. Therefore, no divorce occurs through it, similar to his saying, 'Feed me,' or 'Give me something to drink.'

1263 - Issue: He said: '(And if he says to her: "Your affair is in your hands," it is in her hands, even if it is prolonged, as long as he does not revoke it or have intercourse with her.)'

The summary of this is that the husband is given the choice between divorcing by himself, appointing an agent for it, or delegating it to the wife and placing it under her choice, based on the evidence that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave his wives the choice, and they chose him. Whenever he places his wife's affair in her hands, it remains in her hands forever; it is not restricted to the [current] sitting. This has been narrated from 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Al-Hakam, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir held this view. Malik, al-Shafi'i, and the scholars of reasoning (Ashab al-Ra'y) said: 'It is restricted to the sitting, and she has no divorce [power] after leaving it,' because it is giving her a choice, so it was restricted to the sitting, like his saying, 'Choose.' Our argument is the statement of 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding a man who placed his wife's affair in her hands; he said: 'It is hers until she refuses.' We know of no one among the Companions who disagreed with him, so it constitutes a consensus (ijma'). Furthermore, it is a type of agency in divorce, so it is on the basis of delay, just as if he had assigned it to a stranger, and it differs from his saying, 'Choose,' for that is a [specific] act of giving a choice. If the husband retracts what he has assigned to her, or says, 'I have annulled what I assigned to you,' it becomes void. 'Ata', Mujahid, al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, al-Awza'i, and Ishaq said this. Al-Zuhri, al-Thawri, Malik, and the scholars of reasoning said: