[al-Baqarah: 235].

We therefore say that the marriage is invalid, because it is prohibited by the explicit text of the Quran, and that which has been prohibited cannot be validated.

But if the waiting period ends, may he then marry her? Should we say that the impediment has ceased, and that once the impediment has ceased she becomes lawful for him? Or should we say that she is forbidden to him as a discretionary disciplinary punishment, because he sought to obtain something before its due time by unlawful means, and should therefore be punished by being deprived of it?

The majority of scholars hold that she becomes lawful for him through a new marriage contract. Umar ibn al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with him—held that he should be barred from her and not permitted to marry her, even after the waiting period (1), as a deterrent to him and to others as well. This was among his wise policies.

The correct view in this matter is that it is left to the judge’s ruling. If he considers it beneficial to bar the man from marrying her, then he should do so, following the example of Umar ibn al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with him—and by analogy with the case where a beneficiary under a will kills the testator: the beneficiary is deprived of the bequest. Thus, if a man bequeaths one thousand riyals, and the beneficiary kills him in order to take the thousand, we say: We deprive you of it, because you sought to obtain something before its due time by unlawful means. Thus, the correct view in this matter is that it is left to the judge’s discretion, and the cases before a judge undoubtedly vary. If people were to persist in proposing to women in their waiting periods and marrying them, then barring such marriages and prohibiting the man who concluded the contract from marrying her becomes necessary.

His statement, “and a woman undergoing istibrāʾ (establishing that her womb is clear) due to another man”: a woman undergoing istibrāʾ is one for whom a waiting period is not intended; rather, what is intended is to establish that her womb is clear. According to the stronger view, this includes a woman divorced through khulʿ (divorce initiated by the wife in return for compensation). In the case of khulʿ, her period of waiting is not intended as an ʿiddah (waiting period); rather, its purpose is