not, by merely two pronouncements, render his wife—whether she is freeborn or a slave—unlawful to him; whereas any free woman, whether divorced by a slave husband or a free one, must observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles, and any slave-woman, whether her husband was free or a slave, waits for two cycles. We shall, Allah willing, devote a separate and sufficient chapter in this book to these numerical details.

Calling witnesses to a divorce is not deemed a binding obligation by the majority of scholars; rather, it is recommended—a matter of guidance and precaution for the man who pronounces the divorce, much like summoning witnesses to a sale. The same recommendation applies to witnessing a revocation, and some authorities consider securing witnesses for the revocation even more emphatically encouraged.