And it occurs by its mere utterance, just like his other metonymies, such as his statement, 'Marry whom you wish.' As for us, we rely on the statement of Aisha: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave us the choice; was it then a divorce?' She also said: 'When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was commanded to give his wives the choice, he began with me and said: "I am informing you of a matter, so there is no harm if you do not hasten until you consult your parents." Then he said: "Allah the Exalted said: 'O Prophet, tell your wives, if you desire the life of the world and its adornment...' until he reached: '...then Allah has prepared for the good-doers among you a great reward.'" I said: "In what matter here should I consult my parents? For I desire Allah, His Messenger, and the Last Abode." She said: Then the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did the same as I did.' Agreed upon. Masruq said: 'I do not care whether I give my wife a choice of one, or one hundred, or a thousand, as long as she chooses me.' And because she is a woman given a choice who chose marriage, therefore no divorce occurs through it, like a slave woman emancipated while under a slave. However, if she says, 'I have chosen myself,' it requires his intention; because it is a metonymic expression from her. If one of them intends it without the other, it does not occur; because if the husband does not intend it, he has not delegated the divorce to her, so it is not valid for her to execute it. If he intends it but she does not, he has delegated the divorce to her but she did not execute it, so nothing occurs, as if he appointed an agent for divorce and he did not divorce. If they both intend it, what they intended of the number occurs if they agree on it. If one of them intends less than the other, the lesser occurs; because the excess is something only one of them held, so it did not occur.

Section: If he says, 'Your affair is in your hand,' or 'Choose,' and she says, 'I have accepted,' nothing occurs; because 'Your affair is in your hand' is an appointment of an agent, so her statement in response, 'I have accepted,' is construed as acceptance of the agency, so nothing occurs, just as if he were to say to a stranger, 'My wife's affair is in your hand,' and he said, 'I have accepted.' His statement, 'Choose,' is in the same category. Likewise, if she says, 'I have taken my affair.' Ahmad has explicitly stated both of these in a narration from Ibrahim ibn Hani.