the period of purity, even though he wished to divorce her. It is therefore clear that he merely instructed him to keep her with him and postpone the divorce until a time when it was permissible, just as someone who does something prematurely is instructed to undo it and, if he wishes, do it at its proper time. For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever performs an act that is not in accordance with our command, it is rejected.”

A prohibited divorce is not in accordance with the command of Allah and His Messenger, so it is rejected. He instructed him to postpone the divorce until the second period of purity so that he could have intercourse during the first. Had he divorced her during that first period, he could only have done so before intercourse. Thus, ordering him to keep her until then, only for him to divorce her during the first period of purity, would merely have caused her additional harm.

Moreover, this was a punishment requiring him to act in a manner Allah had permitted; he was thus punished by being subjected to the opposite of what he intended. A detailed discussion of this issue and a full account of the arguments of both sides belong elsewhere. The purpose here is simply to draw attention to these positions and their grounds.

There is no doubt that the presumption is that the marriage remains intact. No evidence from Islamic law establishes its dissolution through a prohibited divorce; rather, the scriptural texts and legal principles indicate the contrary. And Allah knows best.