Chapter: Sunnah-compliant Divorce and Innovative (Bidʿī) Divorce

A Sunnah-compliant divorce is the divorce carried out in the manner laid down by Allah and His Messenger. It consists of pronouncing a single divorce during a period of purity in which the husband has not had intercourse with his wife, and then leaving her until her waiting-period (ʿiddah) ends. In terms of number, it is Sunnah-compliant because he issues only one pronouncement and then refrains until the ʿiddah is over; and in terms of timing, it is Sunnah-compliant because he divorces her while she is in a state of purity untouched by him. Allah the Exalted says: “O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting-period” (Q 65:1).

Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) explained the noble verse, saying: “That means while they are in a state of purity in which there has been no intercourse.” ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Had people adhered to what Allah commanded regarding divorce, no man would ever wrong himself about a woman: he would pronounce a single divorce, then leave her until she has menstruated three times, and if he wished, he could take her back”—meaning, as long as she remains within the waiting-period. Allah has thus granted the husband an interval in which he may reconsider and restore the marriage if he regrets the divorce, provided he has not yet exhausted the number of pronouncements available to him.