Told by Religious Authority That He Can Take His Wife Back with New Contract but Scholars Refuse this Fatwa
31-8-2021 | IslamWeb
Question:
3 years before i divorce my wife on call saying " i divorce you 3 times" but i utter these words only once and then she hang up ..i work and live in kuwait but my wife is in pakistan so i get fatwa from ministry of religios affairs in kuwait and i send to pakistan ...in that fatwa they told me i can get her back with new marriage contract .now the problem is our scholars in pakistan they follow Imam Abu hanifa and they said this fatwa from kuwait is wrong and not accepted.so i am confused now and dont know what to do ? islam is true religion which guides in all aspect of life so how come this most important issue of our society is disputed between different school of thoughts of islam...i have 9 years old daughter and my wife is not married yet after my divorce so pls tell me if i can marry her with new contract or not jQuery111008463654773713523_1581401430474? jazakallah khair
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The jurists differed in opinion about the ruling of issuing three consecutive divorces in one word [i.e. saying I divorce you 3 times], and the majority of the scholars are of the view that this takes place as three divorces.
However, some scholars are of the view that it takes place only as one divorce. This issue is one of the issues of Ijtihad in which disagreement occurred because of the difference in understanding the texts that were reported about it.
Therefore, the difference of opinion is widespread, and it has its justifications. Every scholar acts regarding this issue based on his own Ijtihad, and the layman imitates the scholar (or scholars) whom he trusts regarding their knowledge.
Hence, if you have asked the authority that you mentioned in the question, then it is a reputable authority and you can act according to its Fatwa and return your wife with a new contract. You can search for a way to bring your wife to Kuwait and conduct the marriage contract ceremony there.
If you are not able to bring her back, then you may refer to the Sharee’ah court in Pakistan or you may entrust a lawyer who will strive to convince them to agree that you take your wife back. If that is possible, then praise be to Allah, otherwise leave her and marry someone else other than her.
If anyone else marries her a serious marriage and really consummates the marriage with her, and then he divorces her, then it becomes permissible for you to take her back as Allah Says (what means): {And if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until [after] she marries a husband other than him. And if the latter husband divorces her [or dies], there is no blame upon the woman and her former husband for returning to each other if they think that they can keep [within] the limits of Allah. These are the limits of Allah, which He makes clear to a people who know.} [Quran 2:230]
For more benefit on multiple divorces or triple divorce in one session, please refer to Fataawa 82330, 312142, 318337, 155573 and 94110.
Allah Knows best.