The Book of Divorce

Ubaydullah bin Sa'id al-Sarkhasi narrated to us; Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan narrated to us, from Ubaydullah bin Umar, who informed me, from Nafi, from Abdullah, that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating. Umar sought a ruling from the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Abdullah has divorced his wife while she is menstruating.’ He said, ‘Tell Abdullah to take her back and leave her until she becomes pure from this menstruation, then menstruates again. When she becomes pure, if he wishes, let him separate from her before having intercourse with her; and if he wishes, let him keep her. That is the waiting period for which Allah, Mighty and Sublime, commanded that women be divorced.’

Muhammad bin Salamah informed us; Ibn al-Qasim informed us, from Malik, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah. Umar bin al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah about it. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Tell him to take her back, then keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates and becomes pure again. After that, if he wishes, he may keep her; and if he wishes, he may divorce her before touching her. That is the waiting period for which Allah, Mighty and Sublime, commanded that women be divorced.’

Kathir bin Ubayd informed me, from Muhammad bin Harb, who said: Al-Zubaydi narrated to us: Al-Zuhri was asked, ‘How should divorce be carried out in accordance with the waiting period?’ He said: Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar informed me that Abdullah bin Umar said, ‘I divorced my wife during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah while she was menstruating.’ Umar told the Messenger of Allah about it, and the Messenger of Allah was angered by it. He said, ‘He should take her back and keep her until she menstruates and becomes pure. Then, if he decides to divorce her while she is pure, before touching her, that is divorce in accordance with the waiting period, as Allah, Mighty and Sublime, revealed.’ Abdullah bin Umar said, ‘So I took her back, and I counted the divorce I had pronounced.’

Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim and Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Tamim informed me, from Hajjaj, who said: Ibn Jurayj said: Abu al-Zubayr informed me that he heard Abd al-Rahman bin Ayman ask Ibn Umar, while Abu al-Zubayr was listening, ‘What do you think of a man who divorces his wife while she is menstruating?’ Ibn Umar said to him, ‘Abdullah bin Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the time of the Messenger of Allah. Umar asked the Messenger of Allah about it and said, “Abdullah bin Umar has divorced his wife while she is menstruating.” The Messenger of Allah said, “He should take her back.” So he returned her to me. He then said, “When she becomes pure, he may divorce her or keep her.”’ Ibn Umar said that the Prophet recited: ‘O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them at the beginning of their waiting period.’

Muhammad bin Bashshar narrated to us; Muhammad bin Ja'far narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from al-Hakam, who said: I heard Mujahid relate from Ibn Abbas, regarding the words of Allah, Mighty and Sublime, ‘O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for their waiting period.’ Ibn Abbas said, ‘At the beginning of their waiting period.’

Muhammad bin Yahya bin Ayyub narrated to us; Hafs bin Ghiyath narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Abu al-Ahwas, from Abdullah, who said: ‘The prescribed divorce is one pronouncement while she is pure and without intercourse. When she menstruates and becomes pure, he pronounces another divorce; when she menstruates and becomes pure again, he pronounces another. After that, she observes a waiting period of one menstrual cycle.’ Al-A'mash said: I asked Ibrahim, and he said the same.

Amr bin Ali narrated to us; Yahya narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Abu Ishaq, from Abu al-Ahwas, from Abdullah, who said: ‘The prescribed divorce is to divorce her while she is pure and without having had intercourse with her.’

Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la narrated to us; al-Mu'tamir narrated to us. He said: I heard Ubaydullah bin Umar, from Nafi, from Abdullah, that he divorced his wife with one pronouncement while she was menstruating. Umar went and told the Prophet about it. The Prophet said to him, ‘Tell Abdullah to take her back. When she has bathed, let him leave her until she menstruates; then, when she has bathed after that next menstruation, he must not touch her until he divorces her. If he wishes to keep her, let him keep her. That is the waiting period for which Allah, Mighty and Sublime, commanded that women be divorced.’

Mahmud bin Ghaylan narrated to us; Waki narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman, the freedman of Talhah, from Salim bin Abdullah, from Ibn Umar, that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating and mentioned it to the Prophet. He said, ‘Tell him to take her back, then divorce her when she is pure or pregnant.’

Ziyad bin Ayyub informed me; Hushaym narrated to us; Abu Bishr informed us, from Sa'id bin Jubayr, from Ibn Umar, that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating. The Messenger of Allah returned her to him until he divorced her while she was pure.

Qutaybah narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Muhammad, from Yunus bin Jubayr, who said: I asked Ibn Umar about a man who divorced his wife while she was menstruating. He said, ‘Do you know Abdullah bin Umar? He divorced his wife while she was menstruating, and Umar asked the Prophet about it. He ordered him to take her back and then begin counting her waiting period anew.’ I asked him, ‘Does he count that divorce?’ He replied, ‘Enough! What do you think if he were incapable and acted foolishly?’

Yaqub bin Ibrahim narrated to us; Ibn Ulaiyyah narrated to us, from Yunus, from Muhammad bin Sirin, from Yunus bin Jubayr, who said: I asked Ibn Umar about a man who had divorced his wife while she was menstruating. He said, ‘Do you know Abdullah bin Umar? He divorced his wife while she was menstruating, and Umar went to the Prophet to ask him about it. He ordered him to take her back and then begin counting her waiting period anew.’ I asked him, ‘When a man divorces his wife while she is menstruating, does he count that divorce?’ He replied, ‘Enough! What if he were incapable and acted foolishly?’

Sulayman bin Dawud narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Makhramah informed me, from his father, who said: I heard Mahmud bin Labid say: The Messenger of Allah was informed about a man who had pronounced three divorces against his wife all at once. He stood up angrily and said, ‘Is the Book of Allah being treated as a play while I am still among you?’ Then a man stood and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, shall I kill him?’

Muhammad bin Salamah narrated to us; Ibn al-Qasim narrated to us, from Malik, who said: Ibn Shihab told me that Sahl bin Sa'd al-Sa'idi informed him that Uwaymir al-Ajlani came to Asim bin Adi and said, ‘Asim, what do you think: if a man found another man with his wife, should he kill him, and would they then kill him, or what should he do? Ask the Messenger of Allah for me about this.’ Asim asked the Messenger of Allah, but the Messenger of Allah disliked such questions and criticized them, until what Asim heard from him weighed heavily upon him. When Asim returned to his family, Uwaymir came to him and said, ‘Asim, what did the Messenger of Allah say to you?’ Asim replied, ‘You have brought me nothing good. The Messenger of Allah disliked the question you asked.’ Uwaymir said, ‘By Allah, I will not stop until I ask the Messenger of Allah about it myself.’ Uwaymir went and came to the Messenger of Allah while he was among the people. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what do you think: if a man found another man with his wife, should he kill him, and would they then kill him, or what should he do?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Something has been revealed concerning you and your wife, so go and bring her.’ Sahl said: They performed li'an while I was with the people in the presence of the Messenger of Allah. When Uwaymir had finished, he said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I would be speaking falsely about her if I kept her.’ So he divorced her three times before the Messenger of Allah instructed him to do so.

Ahmad bin Yahya narrated to us; Abu Nu'aym narrated to us; Sa'id bin Yazid al-Ahmasi narrated to us; al-Sha'bi narrated to me; Fatimah bint Qays told me: I came to the Prophet and said, ‘I belong to the family of Khalid. My husband, so-and-so, sent me his divorce, and I asked his family for maintenance and housing, but they refused me.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, he has sent her three pronouncements of divorce.’ She said: The Messenger of Allah said, ‘A woman is entitled to maintenance and housing only when her husband has the right to take her back.’

Muhammad bin Bashshar narrated to us; Abd al-Rahman narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Salamah, from al-Sha'bi, from Fatimah bint Qays, from the Prophet, who said: ‘A woman divorced three times is entitled to neither lodging nor maintenance.’

Amr bin Uthman narrated to us; Baqiyyah narrated to us, from Abu Amr—al-Awza'i—who said: Yahya narrated to us; Abu Salamah narrated to me; Fatimah bint Qays told me that Abu Amr bin Hafs al-Makhzumi divorced her three times. Khalid bin al-Walid went with a group of Banu Makhzum to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, Abu Amr bin Hafs has divorced Fatimah three times. Is she entitled to maintenance?’ He said, ‘She is entitled to neither maintenance nor lodging.’

Abu Dawud, Sulayman bin Sayf, narrated to us; Abu Asim narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Tawus, from his father, that Abu al-Sahba came to Ibn Abbas and said, ‘Ibn Abbas, do you not know that three divorces used to be counted as one during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, during the time of Abu Bakr, and in the early part of Umar's caliphate—may Allah be pleased with them both?’ He said, ‘Yes.’

Muhammad bin al-Ala narrated to us; Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah was asked about a man who divorced his wife, then she married another man. He went in to her, then divorced her before having intercourse with her. ‘Is she lawful for the first husband?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘No, not until the other husband has tasted her sweetness and she has tasted his.’

Abd al-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Abd al-Hakam informed me; Shu'ayb bin al-Layth narrated to us, from his father, who said: Ayyub bin Musa narrated to me, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwah, from Aishah, who said: The wife of Rifaa al-Qurazi came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I married Abd al-Rahman bin al-Zubayr. By Allah, he has nothing except something like this tassel.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Perhaps you want to return to Rifaa? No—not until he tastes your sweetness and you taste his.’