Originally posted by: hypnotoad
The jurists (fuqaha) of the Hanafi School assert that when a marriage is not consummated, three divorces pronounced in one sentence do result in three; but if they are pronounced in separate sentences, then only the first divorce comes into effect, and not the second and third one.
If a man, before consummating the marriage, says to his wife, “I divorce you thrice/three times” then all three divorces come into effect. However, if he utters three separate pronouncements of divorce such as “I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you”, then it only results in one divorce.
The reason for this, they explain, is that when a marriage is not consummated, the wife is irrevocably divorced (ba’ina) with the first pronouncement of divorce [i.e. “I divorce you”], since there is no obligation upon her to observe the waiting period (idda)
This is what they also showed as the fatwa in Mere Banjao.
What we mean by consummation is another question and I won't get into it.