The second and third divorces do not take place by long separation
24-3-2010 | IslamWeb
Question:
salam,if husband gives one divorce with wording(i give u divorce(talaq)..afterthat,they separated for 3 to 4 months,they did not make any relation in between this period,,will remainder 2 divorce(talaq) will be done automatically?r they nah mahram for each other?tell me in detail?if wife goes to court and get remainder 2 divorce,will they valid or not and in the same condition if that wife get marry with other person,,is it haram for her or not?can she marry another person now?tell me in detail according to all condition,
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
To answer your questions, it is important to highlight the following points:
1- If a husband says to his wife “I divorce you” only as a promise that he will divorce her in the future, then divorce does not take place, but if he intended to divorce her on the spot, then divorce takes place. For more benefit in this regard, please refer to Fatwa 92476.
2- The fact that the husband and wife were separated for the mentioned period does not lead to the two remaining divorces taking effect automatically, and they do not become forbidden for each other. Rather, if the husband did not intend divorce, the bond of marriage is still valid and if he intended divorce, he may take his wife back before the expiry of her waiting period [without a new contract] if this is the first or second divorce. [If the waiting period expired, then the husband cannot take her back except with a new contract fulfilling all the conditions of a valid marriage contract].
3- If we presume that divorce took place and the husband did not take her back during her waiting period, then she becomes irrevocably divorced from him (with minor separation), and she may marry another husband (if she so wishes).
4- If the wife resorts to the court so that it will issue divorce for her while she is still in the bond of marriage with her first husband, then this is not permissible unless there is a sound reason for that, like bad treatment on the part of her husband or being harmed by him or him not spending on her, and so forth. If she has a sound reason to go to the court and the court issues divorce for her, this is enough for deserving divorce and separating from her husband. In this case, she may marry after the expiry of her waiting period. Her waiting period expires by becoming pure from the third menses after divorce, or after giving birth (if she is pregnant) or after three months expire if she does not menstruate.
Thus, we hope that we have answered all your questions.
Allaah Knows best.