Q: I asked my husband for talaq (divorce). He gave it in this way: I said ‘give me talaq’, he said ‘I give you’. This was done three times with one witness present. Is this talaq valid because he stated that he never said ‘I give you talaq’, he only said ‘I give you’. Is our Nikah (marriage) still valid?
A. The discussion was on Talaaq, so when he said ‘I give you’, it referred to Talaaq. If this was done three times, then three Talaaqs have taken place and unfortunately this Nikah is over.
Further, for Talaaq to be valid there is no need for witnesses.
Three Talaaqs have fallen and the two of you cannot marry each other again without Halaalah.
Mufti Siraj Desai