Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: Whoever turns a woman against her husband, or an enslaved person against their master, is not one of us.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: A woman must not ask for her co-wife to be divorced so that she can take her place and enjoy what is in her bowl. Let her marry; she will have only what has been decreed for her.

Muharib reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: Allah has made nothing lawful that He detests more than divorce.

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: Of all that Allah has made lawful, divorce is the most detested to Him.

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it. He said: Tell him to take her back and keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates, then becomes pure again. After that, if he wishes, he may keep her; or, if he wishes to divorce her, let him do so before having intercourse with her. That is the waiting period for divorce that Allah has commanded.

This report is also transmitted from Nafiʿ through another chain. It says that Ibn ʿUmar divorced one of his wives with a single pronouncement while she was menstruating, then relates the rest as in Malik version.

Ibn ʿUmar divorced his wife while she was menstruating. ʿUmar told the Prophet ﷺ, who said: Tell him to take her back, then divorce her when she is pure or while she is pregnant.

Ibn ʿUmar said he divorced his wife while she was menstruating. ʿUmar told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who became angry and said: Tell him to take her back and keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates and becomes pure again. Then, if he wishes, he may divorce her during a period of purity before having intercourse. That is the divorce for the waiting period, as Allah has commanded.

Yunus ibn Jubayr asked Ibn ʿUmar how many times he had divorced his wife. He replied: Once.

Yunus ibn Jubayr said: I asked ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar about a man who divorced his wife while she was menstruating. He asked whether I knew ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar. I said yes. He replied: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar divorced his wife while she was menstruating. ʿUmar went to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about it. He said: Tell him to take her back, then divorce her at the start of her waiting period. I asked whether that divorce would count. He said: Of course; what else would you expect if he acted helplessly and foolishly?

ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ayman, client of ʿUrwah, asked Ibn ʿUmar—while Abu al-Zubayr listened—what he thought of a man who divorces his wife while she is menstruating. Ibn ʿUmar said: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar divorced his wife while she was menstruating in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. ʿUmar told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Ibn ʿUmar said: He returned her to me and did not count the pronouncement as anything. He said: When she is pure, he may divorce her or keep her. Ibn ʿUmar said the Prophet ﷺ recited: O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them at the start of their waiting period [Quran 65:1]. Abu Dawud noted that several other transmitters agree that the Prophet ﷺ told Ibn ʿUmar to take her back and keep her until she became pure, then, if he wished, divorce or keep her. Other chains say she was to menstruate and become pure again before that choice. Abu Dawud said the other reports all differ from Abu al-Zubayr version.

Mutarrif ibn ʿAbd Allah reported that ʿImran ibn Husayn was asked about a man who divorced his wife, then had intercourse with her without witnesses to either the divorce or the return to marriage. He said: You divorced contrary to the Sunnah and returned to her contrary to the Sunnah. Have witnesses to the divorce and the return, and do not repeat this.

Abu Hasan, a client of Banu Nawfal, asked Ibn ʿAbbas about an enslaved man who had divorced his enslaved wife twice, after which both were freed. Could he propose to her again? Ibn ʿAbbas said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled accordingly.

This report is also transmitted from ʿAli ibn al-Mubarak through another chain with the same meaning, adding that Ibn ʿAbbas said: One pronouncement of divorce remains for you. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled accordingly. Abu Dawud said he heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal report that Ibn al-Mubarak asked Maʿmar who this Abu Hasan was, saying he had taken on a great burden. Abu Dawud noted that al-Zuhri transmitted from Abu Hasan and described him as a jurist; Abu Hasan is known, but this report is not acted upon.

ʿAishah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: The divorce of an enslaved woman is two pronouncements, and her waiting period is two menstrual cycles. Abu ʿAsim said another transmission from Muzahir and al-Qasim from ʿAishah gives the same wording, except that it says her waiting period is two cycles. Abu Dawud said this report is obscure.

ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb reported from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ said: There is no divorce except concerning what one possesses; no emancipation except concerning what one possesses; and no sale except of what one possesses. Ibn al-Sabbah added: No vow must be fulfilled except concerning what one possesses.

This report is also transmitted from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb through another chain with the same meaning, adding: Whoever swears to commit a sin has no binding oath, and whoever swears to sever family ties has no binding oath.

This report is also transmitted from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb through another chain, adding that there is no valid vow except one made seeking the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted.

Muhammad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Abi Salih, who lived in Aylah, said: I traveled with ʿAdi ibn ʿAdi al-Kindi until we reached Mecca. He sent me to Safiyyah bint Shaybah, who had memorized a report from ʿAishah. She said: I heard ʿAishah say that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: There is no divorce or emancipation under constraint. Abu Dawud said: I think constraint here means anger.