Book of Divorce
First Section: The Kinds of Divorce
Chapter One: Irrevocable and Revocable Divorce
The Book of Divorce deals with four main sections:
- The first concerns the various kinds of divorce.
- The second sets out the essential elements of divorce.
- The third treats of reinstatement (rajʿah).
- The fourth discusses the rulings that pertain to divorced women.
The First Section
This section contains five chapters:
• Chapter One: Irrevocable and revocable divorce.
• Chapter Two: Divorce performed in accordance with the Sunnah and divorce performed in an innovated (bidʿī) manner.
• Chapter Three: Khulʿ.
• Chapter Four: Distinguishing divorce from dissolution (faskh).
• Chapter Five: The rulings of choice (takhyīr) and delegation (tamlīk).
Chapter One: Irrevocable and Revocable Divorce
The scholars are unanimously agreed that divorce falls into two categories: irrevocable (bāʾin) and revocable (rajʿī). A revocable divorce is one in which the husband retains the right to take his wife back without her consent, and one of its conditions is that the marriage must have been consummated.
This consensus rests on the Almighty’s words:
“O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them at the commencement of their waiting period and count the waiting period…” (al-Ṭalāq 65:1)
up to His words,
“Perhaps Allah will bring about, after that, a different matter.” (al-Ṭalāq 65:1).
It is further supported by the sound report of Ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—ordered him to take his wife back after he had divorced her while she was menstruating. There is no disagreement on this point.
As for the irrevocable divorce, they agree that irrevocability may arise in three ways: through divorce before consummation, through the cumulative number of pronouncements, and through compensation in khulʿ—though they differ over whether khulʿ is itself a divorce or a dissolution, as will be explained later.
They also concur that the number of pronouncements which renders the divorce of a free man irrevocable is three, provided they are issued separately, in view of the Almighty’s words:
“Divorce is twice…” (al-Baqarah 2:229).
They differ, however, when the three pronouncements are uttered in a single formula, without—