menstrual period is not counted, based on the view that a divorce issued while the wife is menstruating takes effect. We have already stated that the correct view is that such a divorce does not take effect. Nevertheless, according to that view, this period is not counted. We derive that it is not counted from the author’s words: “three complete qurūʾ.”
His words, “complete”: is this in the nominative or the genitive? That is, does “complete” qualify “three” or does it qualify “qurūʾ”? It appears that both constructions are grammatically possible, but what seems closer to me is that it qualifies “three”—meaning that all three must be complete.
The fourth category: A woman whom her husband separates from while he is alive, and who has not menstruated because of youth or menopause: a free woman observes a waiting period of three months, a slave woman two months, and a partially emancipated slave woman in proportion; a fractional part is rounded up, …
His words, “The fourth category: a woman whom he separates from while he is alive,” exclude one from whom he separates by dying; this has already been discussed.
His words, “and who has not menstruated because of youth or menopause”: “has not menstruated because of youth” is a correct expression, since lam is a particle of negation, jussive construction, and reversal. But regarding one who has not menstruated because of menopause, it would be more appropriate to say, “she no longer menstruates,” because she may have menstruated before and then stopped menstruating. However, the author seems to have used this expression by way of predominance.
His words, “has not menstruated because of youth or menopause”: the lām in “because of youth” indicates causation; that is, she has not menstruated because she is young, or she no longer menstruates because she has grown old and has reached menopause.
According to the madhhab, a young girl does not menstruate before completing nine years. Thus, if she menstruates at eight and a half years old, it is not deemed menstruation, even if she bleeds regularly every month for a fixed, specified duration. So, if a man married a woman who was eight years old and separated from her while she was bleeding in this manner—