Nor is it a condition that the second husband have reached puberty, as long as he is capable of intercourse with someone like her—even if he is only ten years old.
7 – Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Our law is the most beautiful of all laws and the best at securing people’s welfare. A man may grow disinclined toward his wife; should desire for her later return, he has a way to restore the marriage. But once he has divorced her a third time, he has no avenue back to her except after she marries another husband in a marriage of genuine desire. Her becoming lawful to him again after life with that other husband is therefore one of the greatest blessings.”
8 – Al-Rāzī wrote: “The wisdom in granting the right of revocation is that, while a person is still with his partner, he does not know whether parting will distress him or not. Once they separate, the truth emerges. Had Allah made a single pronouncement of divorce irrevocable, it would impose great hardship on anyone whose love surfaced after the separation.
“Because a complete trial is not achieved in one instance, the Exalted affirmed the right to take her back twice after separation. By then a person has tested himself through the separation and learned the state of his heart in the matter. If keeping her is better, he may take her back and retain her honorably; if releasing her is better, he releases her in the best manner. This gradual, ordered legislation shows the perfection of His mercy and compassion toward His servants.”
9 – Sayyid Qutb said: “The first divorce is a test and an experiment; the second is a further experiment. If life proves viable after those two, so be it. Otherwise, the third divorce indicates an ingrained flaw in the marriage that makes continued life together impossible, so it is better for both to seek new partners.
“If the other husband divorces her, there is no blame on the first couple if they return to one another—provided ‘they think they can maintain the limits set by Allah’ (al-Baqarah 2:230). They are not left to their passions and whims in uniting or separating; rather, it is the limits of Allah that must be upheld between them.”