for the third time, this was an irrevocable divorce, or ṭalāq bā’in, in the terminology of the jurists.
The jurists have recognized divorce in three forms. A man would sometimes pronounce divorce thrice on one and the same occasion, and this would be understood as meaning that divorce had been given thrice. This is called ṭalāq bid‘ī (or an innovation in divorce after the Holy Prophet’s time). Or a man would divorce his wife for the first time in one ṭuhr, following on with a second divorce in the second ṭuhr and with a third divorce in the third, thus divorcing thrice in one ‘iddah or one period of waiting. This method of ṭalāq is called ṭalāq ḥasan (a good way of divorcing) in the terminology of the jurists. The name ṭalāq aḥsan (or the best method of divorcing) is given to the form in which ṭalāq is pronounced in a ṭuhr only once, and this is followed by the period of waiting (H.I, p. 333). This last method is the only method recognized by the Holy Qur’ān. It is plainly laid down: “O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them for their prescribed period (‘iddah), and calculate the period and keep your duty to Allāh, your Lord” (65:1). The divorce is thus to be pronounced only once and when it has been pronounced, the ‘iddah, or waiting period, follows, and during this time the parties have a right to revocation of the divorce. All other forms of divorce are against the Holy Qur’ān and the practice of the Holy Prophet (Sunnah).
Thus the Holy Qur’ān recognizes ṭalāq only in one form, the ṭalāq alsunnah, or the ṭalāq aḥsan of the Ḥanafī jurists. There is no mention at all of the other two forms, either in the Holy Qur’ān or in Ḥadīth. These two forms are, in fact, only subterfuges to make the revocable divorce an irrevocable one. The tendency to resort to these subterfuges is noticeable even in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. The pronouncing of three divorces without an interval seems to have been a remnant of pre-Islamic days. The Holy Prophet is reported to have shown indignation when it was brought to his notice that a certain person had pronounced three divorces together (Ns. 27:6), and a divorce