Chapter on the Divorce of an Absent Person
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 4|Chapter 3
رَوَى اَلْحَسَنُ بْنُ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ اَلثُّمَالِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ قَالَ لِرَجُلٍ اُكْتُبْ يَا فُلاَنُ إِلَى اِمْرَأَتِي بِطَلاَقِهَا أَوْ قَالَ اُكْتُبْ إِلَى عَبْدِي بِعِتْقِهِ أَ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ طَلاَقاً أَوْ عِتْقاً قَالَ "لاَ يَكُونُ طَلاَقٌ وَ لاَ عِتْقٌ حَتَّى يَنْطِقَ بِهِ اَللِّسَانُ أَوْ يَخُطَّ بِيَدِهِ وَ هُوَ يُرِيدُ اَلطَّلاَقَ أَوِ اَلْعِتْقَ وَ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ بِالْأَهِلَّةِ وَ اَلشُّهُودِ وَ يَكُونَ غَائِباً عَنْ أَهْلِهِ".
Al-Ḥasan ibn Maḥbub narrated from Abu Ḥamzah al-Thumali from Abu Jafar Imam Al-Baqir عليه السلام who said: "I asked him about a man who said to another, 'Write to my wife regarding her divorce,' or said: 'Write to my slave regarding his emancipation.' Would that constitute a divorce or emancipation?" Imam عليه السلام replied: "There is no divorce nor emancipation until it is spoken by the tongue or written by his own hand with the intention of divorce or emancipation. It must also be done with proper witnessing and at the right time while he is absent from his family."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh