Tafseer of Divorce · At-Talaaq · 65:1
O Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period, and fear Allah, your Lord. Do not turn them out of their [husbands'] houses, nor should they [themselves] leave [during that period] unless they are committing a clear immorality. And those are the limits [set by] Allah. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah has certainly wronged himself. You know not; perhaps Allah will bring about after that a [different] matter.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His word: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna (O Prophet, when you divorce women, then divorce them with a view to their waiting period): When you divorce your wives (ṭalāq), then divorce them during the period of purity which they count toward their waiting period (ʿiddah), while they are pure and without sexual intercourse having taken place; and do not divorce them during their menstruation, which they do not count among their periods of purity.
Something similar to what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have said.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, he said: I heard al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The divorce with a view to the waiting period takes place in a state of purity, without sexual intercourse having taken place.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: during purity, without sexual intercourse.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: when you divorce, he said: during purity, without sexual intercourse.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: while she is pure, without sexual intercourse.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he held the view that divorce according to the sunna takes place while she is pure, without sexual intercourse, and during every period of purity; and that is the waiting period (ʿiddah) which Allah has prescribed.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid, that a man put a question to Ibn ʿAbbās and said: he had divorced his wife a hundred times. Then he said: you have disobeyed your Lord, and your wife is irrevocably separated from you, and you did not fear Allah so that He would make a way out for you. And he recited this verse: Wa-man yattaqi Allāha yajʿal lahu makhrajan (And whoever fears Allah, for him He makes a way out), and he said: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna fī qubuli ʿiddatihinna (O Prophet, when you divorce women, then divorce them at the beginning of their waiting period).
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, he said: Ayyūb related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: I was with Ibn ʿAbbās, when a man came to him who said: he had divorced his wife three times. He fell silent, until we thought that he would return her to him. Then he said: one of you goes out and commits folly, and then says: O Ibn ʿAbbās, O Ibn ʿAbbās! Indeed, Allah, mighty and exalted is He, has said: Wa-man yattaqi Allāha yajʿal lahu makhrajan (And whoever fears Allah, for him He makes a way out), and you did not fear Allah, so I find no way out for you. You have disobeyed your Lord, and your wife is irrevocably separated from you. Allah has said: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna fī qubuli ʿiddatihinna (O Prophet, when you divorce women, then divorce them at the beginning of their waiting period).
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, who said: I heard Mujāhid narrate on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās about this verse: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna; Ibn ʿAbbās said: at the beginning of their waiting period.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Umayya, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, on the authority of Mujāhid, that he recited: fa-ṭalliqūhunna fī qubuli ʿiddatihinna (then divorce them at the beginning of their waiting period).
Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīm related to us, he said: Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: while she is pure, without sexual intercourse.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Muslim, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: while she is pure, free of menstruation, or pregnant while her pregnancy has become evident.
He said: Hārūn related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn Yazīd ibn Daʾb, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Ibn Sīrīn, concerning someone who wished to pronounce all three divorces at once in a single utterance, that there is no objection to that, provided he divorces her at the beginning of her waiting period, as Allah has commanded him. And the two of them held it reprehensible for a man to give his wife one, two, or three divorces when that takes place outside the waiting period (ʿiddah) which Allah has mentioned.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Hushaym related to us, he said: ʿAwn informed us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, that he said concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: he divorces her while she is pure, without sexual intercourse, or if she is pregnant and her pregnancy has become evident.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: during their purity.
ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Muḥāribī related to us, he said: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning the word of Allah: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: the waiting period is the qurʾ, and the qurʾ is the menstruation; and the pure one is she who is pure without sexual intercourse; thereafter she awaits three menstruations.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, Bishr said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna; and the waiting period entails that he divorces her with a single divorce while she is pure, without sexual intercourse.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: when she has become pure from menstruation, without sexual intercourse. I said: how then? He said: when she has become pure, then divorce her before you touch her; and if you decide to divorce her again, then leave her alone until she has had another menstruation, and divorce her thereafter when she has become pure for the second time; and when you wish to divorce her for the third time, then grant her a delay until she menstruates, and when she has become pure, then divorce her for the third time; thereafter she awaits a single menstruation as a waiting period, and after that she may marry if she wishes.
He said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, he said: and Ibn Ṭāwūs said: when you wish for the divorce, then divorce her at the moment she becomes pure, before you touch her, with a single divorce; it is not fitting for you to add anything more to that, until three periods of purity (qurūʾ) have elapsed, for a single divorce already makes her irrevocably separated from you.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he says: divorce her while she is pure, without sexual intercourse.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: when you divorce her with a view to the waiting period, the authority over her remains in your hand; for whoever divorces with a view to the waiting period Allah has made room therein, and has given him authority: if he wishes to return before the waiting period has elapsed, then he returns.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: while she is pure, without sexual intercourse; and if she does not menstruate, then at the appearance of every new moon.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: I divorced my wife while she was menstruating. ʿUmar then came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to inform him about that, and he said: "Command him to take her back until she becomes pure, then menstruates, then becomes pure again; then, if he wishes, he divorces her before he has intercourse with her, and if he wishes, he keeps her. For that is the waiting period which Allah, mighty and exalted is He, has mentioned."
He said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, something similar, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Mahdī related to us, on the authority of Mālik, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, "that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating, and ʿUmar asked the Prophet ﷺ about that, and he said: "Command him to take her back, and then keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates, then becomes pure again; then, if he wishes, he keeps her. That is the waiting period at which Allah has commanded that the women be divorced.""
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, "that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating, and ʿUmar came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned that to him, and he commanded him to take her back and then leave her alone until she would become pure and then menstruate, and then divorce her. The Prophet ﷺ said: "That is the waiting period at which Allah has commanded that the women be divorced"" — and he says: when they become pure.
ʿAlī related to us, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he says: he may not divorce her while she is menstruating, nor during a period of purity in which he has had intercourse with her, but he leaves her alone until she has menstruated and become pure, and then he divorces her with a single divorce. If she menstruates, her waiting period is three menstruations; and if she does not menstruate, her waiting period is three months; and if she is pregnant, her waiting period is that she delivers her pregnancy.
Ibn al-Barqī related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz — he was asked about the word of Allah: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna — he said: divorce according to the sunna entails that the man divorces his wife while she is at the beginning of her waiting period, pure, without sexual intercourse, with a single divorce; thereafter he leaves her alone; if he wishes, he takes her back before she has washed herself after the third menstruation. And if he wishes to give her three divorces, he divorces her once at the beginning of her waiting period, while she is pure, without sexual intercourse; thereafter he leaves her alone until she has menstruated and become pure, and then he divorces her again; thereafter he leaves her alone until she has menstruated and become pure, and then he divorces her again; thereafter she is not permitted to him until she marries another husband.
And it has been mentioned that this verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the occasion of his divorcing Ḥafṣa.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ divorced Ḥafṣa, the daughter of ʿUmar, with a single divorce, and then this verse was revealed: Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu idhā ṭallaqtumu al-nisāʾa fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna, and it was said: take her back, for she fasts much and prays much, and she is among your wives in Paradise."
And His word: Wa-aḥṣū al-ʿiddata (And keep count of the waiting period accurately), he says: and keep this waiting period and the periods of purity thereof counted accurately, and preserve them well.
Something similar to what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: Wa-aḥṣū al-ʿiddata — he said: preserve the waiting period well.
And His word: Wa-attaqū Allāha rabbakum lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna (And fear Allah, your Lord; do not drive them out of their houses), he says: and fear Allah, O people, your Lord, and beware of disobeying Him by transgressing His limits; do not drive out the women whom you have divorced with a view to their waiting period from their houses in which you had lodged them before the divorce, until their waiting period has elapsed.
Something similar to what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: Wa-attaqū Allāha rabbakum lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna — until their waiting period has elapsed.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: Ibn Jurayj informed us, he said: ʿAṭāʾ said: if he permits her to spend her waiting period somewhere other than in his house, and she spends that waiting period in the house of her family, then through that permission he has participated with her in the sin. Then he recited: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin (do not drive them out of their houses, nor let them depart themselves, unless they commit a clear indecency). He said: I said: is this verse about this matter? He said: yes.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ḥaywa ibn Shurayḥ informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar used to say concerning this verse: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: her departure before the elapsing of the waiting period. Ibn ʿAjlān said, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam: when she commits an indecency, she is driven out.
And ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Muḥāribī related to us, he said: al-Muḥāribī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad, related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: it is not permitted for her to depart except with his permission, and it is not permitted for the husband to drive her out as long as she is in the waiting period; and if she does depart, then she has no right to housing nor to maintenance.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: Wa-attaqū Allāha rabbakum lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna — he said: this concerns the divorced woman; she may not leave her house as long as her husband has the right to take her back and she is in the waiting period.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna — and that applies when he has given her one or two divorces; she has this right as long as he has not given her three divorces.
And His word: Wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin (nor let them depart themselves, unless they commit a clear indecency), the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: do not drive them out, unless they commit an indecency which is clearly an indecency to whoever sees her or knows of it.
The people of interpretation have differed concerning the meaning of the indecency (fāḥisha) mentioned in this place, and concerning the reason why Allah permitted that they be driven out from their houses while they are in the waiting period. Some of them said: the indecency which He mentioned in this place is fornication (zinā), and the driving out which Allah permitted is the driving out in order to carry out the prescribed punishment (ḥadd).
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: fornication (zinā); he said: then she is driven out so that the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) is carried out on her.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, the same.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ṣāliḥ ibn Muslim, he said: I asked ʿĀmir; I said: a man divorces his wife with a single divorce, does he drive her out of her house? He said: if she is an adulteress (zāniya).
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: unless they commit fornication.
Yūnus related to us, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said: and I asked him about the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin. He said: Allah, whose praise is exalted, has said: Wa-allātī yaʾtīna al-fāḥishata min nisāʾikum (And those of your women who commit indecency) — he said: these are the married women — fa-stashhidū ʿalayhinna arbaʿatan minkum (then call four witnesses among you against her)... the verse. He said: Allah made their fate the stoning (rajm); so it is not fitting for her to leave her house, unless she commits a clear indecency; and when she commits a clear indecency, she is brought to the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) and stoned. And before this, for the married woman there was confinement: she was confined in the houses and was not permitted to marry; and for the two unmarried persons there was the chastisement. Allah, whose praise is exalted, has said: Wa-alladhāni yaʾtiyānihā minkum fa-ādhūhumā (And the two among you who commit it, harm them both) — O adulterous man, O adulterous woman — fa-in tābā wa-aṣlaḥā fa-aʿriḍū ʿanhumā inna Allāha kāna tawwāban raḥīman (and if they both repent and amend, then turn away from them; indeed, Allah is ever Accepting of repentance, Merciful). He said: thereafter all of this was abrogated (nusikha), and the stoning was established for the married woman and the married man, and a hundred lashes were established for the two unmarried persons. He said: and this was abrogated.
And others said: the indecency which Allah intended in this place is her insolence toward her in-laws.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. Allah said: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: the clear indecency is that she behaves insolently toward her family.
And others said: it is rather every disobedience toward Allah.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — and the indecency is disobedience.
And others said: it is rather her recalcitrance (nushūz) toward her husband, on account of which he divorces her because of the recalcitrance, so that she then has the right to move out of her house.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — Qatāda said: unless he divorces her on account of recalcitrance (nushūz), then she has the right to move out of her husband's house.
And others said: the clear indecency which Allah, mighty and exalted is He, mentioned in this place is her departure from her house.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: her departure from her house is an indecency. Some of them said: her departure, when she commits an indecency, entails that she is driven out so that the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) is carried out on her.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Barqī related to me, he said: Saʿīd ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī Maryam related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb informed us, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān related to me, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, concerning His word: lā tukhrijūhunna min buyūtihinna wa-lā yakhrujna illā an yaʾtīna bi-fāḥishatin mubayyinatin — he said: her departure before the elapsing of the waiting period is an indecency.
* And the correct of what has been said about this is, in my view, the statement of him who said: by the indecency in this place is meant the disobedience (maʿṣiya). That is because the indecency is every reprehensible matter in which one transgresses one's limit; fornication (zinā) falls under it, as does theft and insolence toward the in-laws, and her departure whereby she moves out of the dwelling in which she is obliged to spend her waiting period. Whichever of these matters she does while she is in her waiting period, her husband has the right to drive her out of that house, on account of the indecency she has committed.
And His word: Wa-tilka ḥudūdu Allāhi (And those are the limits of Allah), the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and these matters which I have set forth for you — concerning the divorce with a view to the waiting period, the accurate counting of the waiting period, the command to fear Allah, and that the divorced woman may not leave her house unless she commits a clear indecency — are the limits (ḥudūd) of Allah which He has set for you, O people, so do not transgress them. Wa-man yataʿadda ḥudūda Allāhi fa-qad ẓalama nafsahu (And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah, he has wronged himself), the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and whoever transgresses the limits of Allah which He has set for His creatures, he has wronged himself; He says: he has burdened his soul with a load of sin, and has thereby become unjust toward it and transgressing against it.
Something similar to what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning the word of Allah: Wa-tilka ḥudūdu Allāhi — he says: that is the obedience to Allah, so do not transgress it; he says: whoever holds to other than this, he has wronged himself.
And His word: Lā tadrī laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran (You do not know, perhaps Allah will bring about after that a new situation), the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: you do not know what will come about; perhaps Allah, after your divorcing them, will bring about a return (rajʿa).
Something similar to what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, that Fāṭima bint Qays was married to Abū Ḥafṣ al-Makhzūmī. The Prophet ﷺ had appointed ʿAlī over a part of Yemen, and he set out with him, and sent her the divorce that remained to him for her; and he charged ʿAyyāsh ibn Abī Rabīʿa al-Makhzūmī and al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām to maintain her. But they said: no, by Allah, she has no maintenance due from us, unless she is pregnant. Thereupon she came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned that to him, and he did not grant her maintenance, unless she should be pregnant. And she asked him permission to move, and said: where shall I move to, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "To Ibn Umm Maktūm" — and he was blind, she could lay aside her garments at his place without his seeing her. And she remained there until the Prophet ﷺ married her to Usāma ibn Zayd when her waiting period had elapsed. Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam then sent someone to her to ask her about this narration, and she informed him of it. Marwān said: we have heard this narration only from one woman, and we will hold to the cautious practice in which we found the people. Fāṭima said: between me and you is the Book. Allah, whose praise is exalted, has said: fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna up to laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran. She said: what situation can come about after the third divorce? This indeed concerns only the man's taking back of his wife; and how can a woman be retained without maintenance?
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he said: this concerns the man's taking back of his wife.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: lā tadrī laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — that is to say: a taking back.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: lā tadrī laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he said: he takes her back into her house; this applies at the first and the second divorce; that is further removed from fornication.
Saʿīd said, and al-Ḥasan said: this applies at the first and the second divorce; and what would Allah bring about after the third divorce?
Yaʿqūb related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, he said: Ayyūb informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḥasan and ʿIkrima say: the thrice-divorced woman and the woman whose husband has died have no right to housing nor to maintenance. He said: and ʿIkrima said: laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — and he said: what would come about after the third divorce?
ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Muḥāribī related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he says: perhaps the man takes her back during her waiting period.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: lā tadrī laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — this applies for as long as he still had the right to take her back.
Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: lā tadrī laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he said: the taking back (rajʿa).
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he said: perhaps Allah will bring about in your heart the desire to return to your wife. He said: and he said: whoever divorces with a view to the waiting period, for him Allah has made room therein, and has given him authority: if he wishes to return before the waiting period has elapsed, then he returns.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān: laʿalla Allāha yuḥdithu baʿda dhālika amran — he said: perhaps he takes her back.
