Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al Rahman said that Fatimah daughter of Qais told him that Abu Hafs Al Mughirah divorced her three times. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. The version has Khalid bin Walid and some people of Banu Makhzum came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said Prophet of Allaah (ﷺ) Abu Hafs Al Mughirah divorced his wife three times and he has left a little for her. He said “No maintenance is necessary for her. He then transmitted the rest of the tradition. The tradition narrated by Malik is more perfect.
Hadith Text & Context
This narration from Sunan Abi Dawud 2285 concerns Fatimah bint Qais, who was irrevocably divorced (three pronouncements) by Abu Hafs Al-Mughirah. The central ruling addresses whether a woman undergoing such a final divorce is entitled to financial maintenance (nafaqah) and housing (sukna).
Classical Scholarly Commentary
The Prophet's (ﷺ) declaration, "No maintenance is necessary for her," establishes that a woman divorced by a final, irrevocable talaq (al-ba'inah) is not entitled to sustenance or lodging from her former husband during her waiting period ('iddah).
Scholars explain this ruling is specific to the triple talaq, which severs the marriage bond immediately. Unlike a revocable divorce, where maintenance is obligatory as the wife remains legally tied to her husband, here the marital bond is completely dissolved.
This hadith forms a foundational proof in Islamic jurisprudence for differentiating between the financial rights of women based on the type of divorce they undergo, emphasizing the legal finality of the triple divorce pronouncement.
Jurisprudential Significance
This tradition is critically important in the chapters of divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq), as it clarifies the immediate legal consequences of an irrevocable divorce, particularly regarding the cessation of the husband's financial responsibilities beyond the due dower (mahr).