Uttering a phrase to a wife

Q. In urdu there is a saying ‘Haath dho bheta’, which means die/dead. A friend of mine said this in English to his wife with intention which was said as ‘wash your hands’. Does this affect his marriage?

A. If this statement is commonly used among the people as a ‘phrase’ to divorce one’s wife, and has been uttered with the intention of divorcing one’s wife, then one irrevocable divorce will take place.

If however, this phrase is not used for this purpose, then divorce will not take place.

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Waseem Khan