1281 - Issue: He said: "And if he does not know whether he divorced or not, the certainty of the marriage is not removed by doubt regarding the divorce."

In summary, whoever is in doubt regarding his divorce, its ruling is not binding upon him. Ahmad explicitly stated this, and it is the school of al-Shafi'i and the jurists (Ashab al-Ra'y), because the marriage is established with certainty, and it is not removed by doubt. The fundamental principle regarding this is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Zayd from the Prophet (peace be upon him), [that he was asked] about a man who imagines that he feels something during prayer; he said: "He should not depart until he hears a sound or perceives a scent." It is agreed upon. He commanded him to base [his actions] upon certainty and to discard doubt. This is because it is a doubt that has arisen upon a certainty, so it is obligatory to discard it, just as if one who is in a state of purity doubts whether he has broken his ablution, or one who is in a state of ritual impurity doubts whether he has achieved purity. Piety lies in adhering to the divorce. If the thing doubted is a revocable divorce, he should take back his wife if the marriage has been consummated, or renew the marriage contract if it has not been consummated or if her waiting period has elapsed. If he doubts whether it is a triple divorce, he should divorce her once and leave her; for if he does not divorce her, the certainty of his marriage remains, so she is not lawful for another. It was narrated from Sharik that if he doubts his divorce, he should divorce her once and then take her back, so that the reconciliation (raj'ah) may be based on a single divorce, making it valid in terms of ruling. This is unfounded because pronouncing the reconciliation is possible while in doubt about the divorce, and it does not require intention, which is a requirement for acts of worship. Furthermore, if he were in doubt about two divorces and then divorced her once, he would become in doubt about her being prohibited to him, and the reconciliation would be of no avail to him.

1282 - Issue: He said: "And if he divorces and does not know whether he divorced once or three times, he should isolate himself from her, and he is responsible for her maintenance as long as she is in the waiting period. If he takes her back during the waiting period, the maintenance is binding upon him, and he does not..."