1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from abu Hamzah al-Thumaliy who has said the following: “I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a man who says to another man, ‘O so and so write to my wife her divorce or to my slave that he is free; if it is a divorce and setting free of a slave. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not a divorce or freedom until he says by his own tongue or his own handwriting and with the intention to divorce or set a slave free. This can happen by counting new moons and in the presence of witnesses when he is absent from his family.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

2. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Hammad ibn ‘Isa or Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from ibn ‘Udhaynah from Zurarah who has said the following: “I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a man who divorces his wife in writing or sets free his slave; he then changes his mind and deletes it. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not a divorce or setting free of a slave until he pronounces it through his mouth.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.