Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/361)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

menstruation, but she has not completed nine years, then according to the madhhab she has no waiting period. This is because a waiting period following a separation during the husband’s lifetime is not required unless the husband is of an age capable of intercourse and the wife is of an age capable of being intercourse with. We have said that a husband capable of intercourse is a boy of ten years, and a wife capable of intercourse is a girl of nine. Thus, if this man separates from her while she is eight years old and menstruating, then according to the madhhab she has no waiting period based on menstruation.

But according to the preponderant view, this matter depends on actual occurrence. Thus, if regular menstruation is present in an eight-year-old girl and she is divorced, she observes a waiting period of three qurūʾ, by virtue of the generality of Allah’s saying: “Divorced women shall wait by themselves for three qurūʾ.” [al-Baqarah 2:228]

His words, “or menopause”: iyās (menopause) is the verbal noun of ayisa—“to despair”—and is derived from Allah’s saying: “As for those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, if you are in doubt, their waiting period is three months; and likewise for those who have not menstruated.” [al-Ṭalāq 65:4]

So is menopause determined by age or by one’s condition?

According to the madhhab, it is determined by age: there is no menstruation after fifty years. Thus, once a woman reaches fifty, she has reached menopause, even if her menstruation continues regularly, because there is no menstruation after fifty. An example is a woman divorced by her husband when she is fifty years old, while she has menstruated regularly—once every two months—ever since she began menstruating until the present day. According to the madhhab, her waiting period is three months, because menopause, in their view, is restricted to a fixed age: completion of fifty years. Therefore, if a woman is divorced when she is fifty, she is menopausal and observes a waiting period of three months, as Allah says: “As for those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, if you are in doubt, their waiting period is three months.” [al-Ṭalāq 65:4]

الحيض، لكن ما أتمت التسع، فلا عدة عليها على المذهب؛ لأنه لا تجب عدة من مفارقة حياة إلا إذا كان الزوج يطأ مثله، والزوجة يوطأ مثلها، وقلنا: إن الزوج الذي يطأ مثله ابن عشر سنوات، والمرأة التي يوطأ مثلها بنت تسع، فهذا الرجل الذي فارقها وهي بنت ثمان سنوات وتحيض فإنها لا عدة عليها بالحيض على المذهب، لكن على القول الراجح هذه المسألة منوطة بالوجود، فنقول: إذا وجد الحيض المطرد ولها ثمان سنوات، وطُلقت فإنها تعتد بثلاثة قروء؛ لعموم قوله تعالى: ﴿وَالْمُطَلَّقَاتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ ثَلَاثَةَ قُرُوءٍ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٢٨]. وقوله: «أو إياس» مصدر أَيِسَ ييأس إياساً، مأخوذ من قوله تعالى: ﴿وَاللَاَّّئِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَاللَاَّّئِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ﴾ [الطلاق: ٤]، فبماذا يكون اليأس أبالزمن، أم بالحال؟ المذهب أنه بالزمن، فلا حيض بعد خمسين سنة، فإذا بلغت المرأة خمسين سنة فقد أيست، ولو كان الحيض يأتيها مطرداً؛ لأنه لا حيض بعد الخمسين، مثال ذلك: امرأة طلقها زوجها ولها خمسون سنة، وهي تحيض حيضاً مطرداً، كل شهرين مرة منذ بلغت إلى اليوم، فعدتها على المذهب ثلاثة أشهر؛ لأن اليأس عندهم مقيد بزمن، وهو تمام خمسين سنة، فإذا طلقت المرأة ولها خمسون سنة فإنها آيسة، تعتد بثلاثة أشهر؛ لقوله تعالى: ﴿وَاللَاَّّئِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ﴾ [الطلاق: ٤].