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Regarding waiting period after divorce

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Question

Does the Qur’an clearly specify that after pronunciation of one talaaq a lady has to wait for some period? Please if you can tell me with reference to Hadith.

Answer

The directives of the Qur’an related to divorce start with the prescription of the waiting period (called `iddah). Al-Baqarah 2: 228 reads as:

And the divorced women shall stop themselves [from marriage] for three menstrual periods. And [during this time,] it shall not be lawful for them to hide what God has created in their wombs, if they truly believe in God and the Final Day. And their husbands, during this time, shall have a prior right to take them back, if they [sincerely] desire improvement [of the situation]. (Al-Baqarah 2: 228)

Then, further elaborating the directives for the waiting period, the Qur’an in Al-Talaaq 65 says:

O Prophet, when you [the Muslims] divorce women, divorce them according to their waiting periods (i.e. their `iddah) and keep count of this period, and fear God, your Lord. [During this period,] do not turn them out of their houses and neither should they themselves leave, except if they are guilty of open lewdness. These are the limits of God… (Al-Talaaq 65: 1)

Then, clarifying the position of certain women, the Qur’an says:

Those [women] who have crossed their menstruating age, if you are in doubt [regarding their position with reference to conception of a child] and those who do not menstruate, their period [of waiting] shall be three months. And as for the pregnant [women], their time [of waiting] shall extend to the birth of the child. (Al-Talaaq 65: 4)

Then again, giving some further directives pertaining to this period, the Qur’an says:

[During this period,] provide them the same level of living as you yourself enjoy, according to your [financial] position. And do not harm them to constrict them. If they be pregnant, spend upon them [for their livelihood] till they give birth to the child, and if they foster [the child] for you give them their payment, and fix this payment through mutual consultation, according to [your social] tradition… And a well to do person should spend [for the livelihood of the woman] from his riches [during this period of waiting], while a poor person should spend whatever he can. (Al-Talaaq 65: 6)

The cited verses of the Qur’an entail directives pertaining to the waiting period of women, after they have been divorced. These directives may be summed-up as follows:

  • Regarding The Length of the Waiting Period:

    1. Under normal circumstances, a woman must wait (hold herself from marriage) for three menstrual periods after being divorced (Al-Baqarah 2: 228).

    2. If a woman does not menstruate, then her waiting period shall be for three months (Al-Talaaq 65: 4).

    3. If a woman has crossed her menstruating age, yet there is some doubt whether she is pregnant or not, then her waiting period shall also be three months (Al-Talaaq 65: 4).

    4. If a woman is pregnant, then her waiting period shall extend till the birth of the child (Al-Talaaq 65: 4).

  • Regarding the Directives to be Followed During the Waiting Period:

    1. After the divorce, till the end of the waiting period, the man and the woman shall carry-on living as before. Neither should the man turn her out of the house nor should the woman leave the house1 (Al-Talaaq 65: 1).

    2. The man shall be responsible for providing the livelihood of the woman till the end of the waiting period. The level of this provision shall be commensurate with the standard of living of the man himself (Al-Talaaq 65: 6)

    3. If the woman is pregnant, the period of the provision of livelihood shall extend till the birth of the child (Al-Talaaq 65: 6).

    4. The woman shall not get married till the end of the waiting period (Al-Baqarah 2: 228)

    5. If, during the waiting period, the woman finds out that she bears a child, she must let the man know about her condition. She must not hide her pregnancy from the husband (Al-Baqarah 2: 228)

    6. The man may reverse his decision of divorce, within the waiting period, if he sincerely believes that the differences between the two can be resolved and they can live their lives in a congenial atmosphere.

I hope this helps.

UIUK

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