Did this talaq count?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salamu alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.

Sister in Islam,

We understand the anxiety in your question and we will answer it directly. Your situation involves two incidents, and the second depends on the first, so we take them in order.

In principle, a talaq pronounced in anger is valid and binding as long as the husband knew what he was saying. Anger is a common state in which talaq is pronounced, and if anger excused it, no talaq would ever count. The only anger that prevents talaq from taking effect is anger so extreme that the person loses his reason, does not know what he is saying, and behaves in a way that is clearly outside his normal conduct, such that those around him can see that he was not in his senses. A husband's later claim that he did not know what he said is not accepted on his word alone. It requires evidence of that state, such as the testimony of people who witnessed it, or a known history of such episodes. Regret immediately afterwards is not proof of that state, since regret is the ordinary reaction of a man who knew exactly what he said. Taking it back also has no effect, because talaq once pronounced cannot be withdrawn.

Regarding the second incident, your husband has himself stated that he was fully aware of his anger and of everything he said, including the divorce. On his own account, one talaq took effect three days ago. His saying two hours later that he did not mean it does not remove it. This talaq is a revocable one, and he may take you back within your waiting period, which is three menstrual cycles from the day he said it, either by saying that he takes you back or by resuming marital relations. If he does so, the marriage continues with one talaq consumed, leaving two.

Regarding the first incident, this is where the matter turns. If, two years ago, your husband was in the ordinary state of anger in which a person knows what he is saying, then three talaqs took effect at that time, the marriage ended then, and everything since has been outside marriage. In that case the recent talaq changes nothing, you must separate immediately, and you may not remarry each other unless you marry another man in a genuine marriage that is consummated and then ends by his death or divorce. If, on the other hand, his state two years ago was the extreme one described above, and this can be shown by the account of what he did and how he behaved beyond the words themselves, then no talaq occurred at that time, and your position is the one described for the second incident, one revocable talaq with two remaining.

Since the consequences are grave, we are not able to decide the first incident from what you have written. What we require is a detailed account of that day, from both of you separately if possible, describing what led to it, what he did before, during, and after the words, whether anyone else was present, whether he has had episodes of losing control in this way at other times, and how long it took him to return to himself. Please send this to us, or take it in person to a scholar who can question both of you. Until this is settled, treat the matter with caution, and do not rely on websites, because the ruling depends entirely on facts that only you two can supply.

Allah knows best

Mufti Mirza-Zain Baig