she must observe both waiting periods in months: six months after separating from the second man, if she has reached menopause. If the reason for the cessation of her menstruation is uncertain, the period is one year and three months.

This follows the view of those who hold that the two waiting periods do not overlap, such as Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad. According to Abū Hanīfa, waiting periods arising from relations with two different men overlap; however, he defines menopause by age. The view we have mentioned is the better and easier of the jurists’ two opinions, and it accords with the rulings of ʿUmar and others. According to the other opinion, a woman whose menstruation has ceased for an unknown reason remains in her waiting period until she reaches menopausal age. On their view, she would remain unable to marry until she reaches fifty or sixty years of age. This, however, entails hardship and undue difficulty in religion and undermines the interests of the Muslims.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A man married a woman who has now been with him for four years without menstruating. She stated that she had also not menstruated for four years before their marriage. Her husband then pronounced three divorces upon her. How may she marry another husband, and what waiting period must she observe, given that she is fifty years old?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. According to the stronger of the scholars’ two opinions, she must observe the waiting period prescribed for women who have reached menopause: “three months.” She knows that her menstruation has ceased, and she knows that its cessation has been continuous. This is unlike a woman whose situation is uncertain and who does not know why her menstruation has ceased: whether it is a cessation