the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructing Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to take her back would amount to an instruction to increase the number of divorces. For if he takes her back and we count the first pronouncement as one divorce, he will then pronounce a second divorce, thereby increasing the number. Yet the Sacred Law favors reducing the number of divorces, not increasing it; this is why it prohibited more than one pronouncement. This is a very subtle point. It is as though he is saying: If the first divorce takes effect, then the Prophet’s instruction that he take her back and subsequently divorce her results in an increased number of divorces, whereas the Sacred Law does not favor a person repeatedly divorcing his wife. But according to the view that such a divorce does not take effect, do we say that it is recommended for him to take her back? No. We say: She is still his wife and has not become separated from her husband, such that we could say, “Take her back.”
“There is neither Sunnah-compliant nor innovated divorce in the case of a minor, a woman who no longer menstruates, a woman whose marriage has not been consummated, or a woman whose pregnancy has become apparent …”
His statement, “There is neither Sunnah-compliant nor innovated divorce in the case of a minor, a woman who no longer menstruates, a woman whose marriage has not been consummated, or a woman whose pregnancy has become apparent,” refers to four categories of women whose divorce is neither described as Sunnah-compliant nor as innovated. A minor is one who has not yet menstruated, even if she has reached twenty years of age, due to Allah’s saying: “and those who have not menstruated” [65:4]. This is unrestricted.
A woman who no longer menstruates is one who no longer expects menstruation—that is, it has ceased for her and she does not expect it to return. According to the author’s view mentioned previously in the chapter on menstruation, this is at the age of fifty, since menstruation after fifty is not considered anything, as this is what generally and customarily occurs, and rare cases carry no ruling. We respond to them by citing Allah’s saying: “They ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is a harm’” [2:222]. Whenever this harm is present, it is menstruation. Whether it is rare or common is of no consequence; so long as it is present, it is regarded as menstruation. The correct view, therefore, is that it is not restricted to a particular age.