three times—whether in a period of purity during which he had intercourse with her, one in which he had not, or while she was menstruating—the divorce is binding and his wife is not lawful to him thereafter until she marries another husband.
A man who divorces his wife while she is menstruating is, in Mālik’s view, commanded to take her back and compelled to do so for as long as she remains in her ʿidda (waiting period); this is also the position of Ibn al-Qāsim and ʿAbd al-Malik. Ashhab, however, maintained that he is compelled only until she reaches the second state of purity, saying, “How can I force him to revoke the divorce at a time when he is again permitted to divorce her?” If he does revoke, he must keep her until she becomes pure, then menstruates, then becomes pure once more; only then, if he wishes, may he pronounce a Sunnah divorce. She will count the earlier divorce pronounced during menstruation as part of her ʿidda; should he divorce her again in that subsequent purity, he will have used up two pronouncements, leaving only one.
We have already clarified the meaning of the Messenger of Allah’s statement, “then she menstruates, then she becomes pure,” in al-Tamhīd—praise belongs to Allah alone—and many further rulings on Sunnah divorce will appear, God willing, in the chapter on revocation later in this book.
Whoever, in a purity during which he has not had intercourse, pronounces more than one divorce is, according to Mālik, not divorcing in the Sunnah fashion, yet every divorce he uttered stands. For Mālik, the Sunnah concerns the timing, not the number; thus, if he divorces her in a purity untouched by intercourse, it is deemed a Sunnah divorce whether he issues one pronouncement, three, or more. In every case she becomes unlawful to him and remains so until she marries another husband, whether the pronouncements were combined or scattered.
Even if the woman were his slave-girl whom he had taken as a wife, and he pronounced an irrevocable divorce and then observed the single-cycle istibrāʾ to make sure she was not pregnant, she would not become lawful to him again merely by virtue of his ownership; she would only be lawful after he remarries her and consummates that new marriage.
The maximum number of divorces for a free man is three, and for a slave two; after those two he is barred from her just as the free man is barred by three. The ruling on the number of divorces is determined by the husband, not the wife, while the waiting period is determined by the wife, not the husband, and the explanation for this is that a free man does