In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question.

In principle, words that affect divorce are of two types:

a) Clear and plain words (sarih)

b) Allusive words (kinayyah)

Sarih (clear) means expressly pronouncing the word “divorce” or words derived from it, such as: “I divorce you” or “you are divorced”, etc…Kinayyah (allusive) means using words that are not exclusively prescribed for issuing divorce, but alludes and hints to it.

Clear and plain words affect divorce whether one intends divorce by them or not, while allusive words do not affect it unless one intends divorce by them or it is determined by the circumstance one is in.

Given the above, if  a husband says to his wife “you are free”, it falls under the category of “kinayyah” words that need intention to affect divorce. That means this statement will affect divorce if the husband intends it; otherwise it will not effect it.

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.