is what I maintain. It is also the view affirmed by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and preferred by our Shaykh, Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di, may Allah have mercy on him. He said: “Whoever reflects upon this view will find that it is the only view from which it is not permissible to depart, for its proofs are strong and clear.”
The apparent position of the scholars is that divorce during postnatal bleeding is like divorce during menstruation, because they stated in the chapter on postnatal bleeding that it is akin to menstruation with regard to what is permissible, prohibited, obligatory, and waived, except for three matters which they excluded—and divorce is not among them. In my view, however, it is valid for a man to divorce her during postnatal bleeding, because postnatal bleeding is not counted as part of the waiting period, unlike menstruation. Thus, when he divorces her, her waiting period begins; whereas during menstruation, her waiting period does not begin immediately. This is the difference between the two. The matter is not one on which there is scholarly consensus. Had it been established by consensus that divorce during postnatal bleeding is prohibited, we would not have been at liberty to depart from it. Thus, the preponderant view is that if he divorces her during postnatal bleeding, the divorce takes effect.
Accordingly, divorce is subject to all five legal rulings: it is permissible when needed, disliked when there is no need, recommended in the event of harm, obligatory in the case of ila', and prohibited when it is innovated. We also mentioned that it is obligatory when the wife's chastity has become compromised and he is unable to reform her.
“[Divorce] is valid when issued by a legally accountable husband, and by a discerning minor who understands it, ...”
His statement, “and by a legally accountable husband, and by a discerning minor who understands it,” means that divorce is valid subject to these conditions:
First: “by a husband.” Divorce issued by one who is not her husband is invalid, unless he acts in the husband’s stead as his authorized representative, in which case there is no issue. Thus, if a man divorces a woman before marrying her, it is invalid. Likewise, if he says to a woman standing before him, “You are divorced,” and then marries her, it does not