Majmu Fatawa - Salih Al-Fawzan - (1/180)

Majmu FatawaSalih Al-Fawzan

Answer: Allah the Exalted says – in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate – “O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them in accordance with their waiting period” (65:1).

This verse is addressed to the Prophet ﷺ, but it is, in reality, a command for his community. Allah honoured him by first addressing him personally and then turning the directive to the believers, saying: “When you divorce women, divorce them in accordance with their waiting period.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained that this means the husband should pronounce the divorce while the wife is in a state of purity during which he has not had sexual intercourse with her. This is what is called “divorce in accordance with the Sunnah”: to divorce her while she is free of menstruation, in a period of purity untouched by intercourse. The Lawgiver has prohibited divorcing her in other circumstances, such as divorcing her while she is menstruating or during a period of purity in which intercourse has taken place.

Question: And what if she is pregnant?

Answer: If the husband divorces her during a period of purity in which intercourse occurred and her pregnancy has become evident, there is no objection to that. Likewise, if he divorces her during a period of purity in which no intercourse occurred and no pregnancy is apparent, this too is divorce in accordance with the Sunnah. It is to this form of divorce that Allah refers when He says, “divorce them in accordance with their waiting period.”

As for His words, “and keep count of the waiting period,” they mean: observe it precisely, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.

Allah has clarified elsewhere in Sura al-Baqarah that the menstruating woman waits through three menstrual cycles, whereas in the present case a pregnant woman’s waiting period lasts until she delivers: “divorce them in accordance with their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period.”

“And fear Allah, your Lord” is a command from Allah to show reverence for Him by adhering to these rulings, for they secure people’s welfare, and compliance with them is an act of worship: obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.

الجواب: يقول الله تعالى، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم: ﴿يَاأَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ﴾ الآية. هذا خطاب للنبي ﷺ، وأمر لأمته خاطب به النبي ﷺ تشريفًا له، ثم وجه الخطاب إلى الأمة، فقال: ﴿إِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ﴾ وقد ورد تفسير ذلك عن النبي ﷺ بأن يطلقها في طهر لم يجامعها فيه، وهذا ما يسمى بطلاق السنة، وهو: أن يطلقها وهي طاهر من الحيض في طهر لم يجامعها فيه، ونهى الشارع عن طلاقها في غير هذه الحالة، كأن يطلقها وهي حائض، أو يطلقها في طهر جامعها فيه. سؤال: وإذا كانت حاملًا؟ الجواب: إذا طلقها في طهر جامعها فيه، وقد استبان حملها فلا مانع من ذلك، أو طلقها في طهر لم يجامعها فيه ولم يستبن حملها، فهذا هو طلاق السنة أيضًا، وهو الذي أمر الله أن تطلق له النساء، ﴿فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ﴾ . وقوله تعالى: ﴿وَأَحْصُوا الْعِدَّةَ﴾ : أي تقيدوا بها، بأن لا تزيدوا عليها أو تنقصوا منها. والعدة كما بينها الله ﷾ في آيات أخرى في سورة البقرة، أن الحائض تعتد بثلاث حيض، وفي هذه الصورة أن الحامل تعتد بوضع الحمل ﴿فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ وَأَحْصُوا الْعِدَّةَ﴾ . ﴿وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ﴾ : هذا أمر من الله ﷾ بتقواه بالتزام هذه الأحكام التي بينها؛ لأنها من مصالح العباد، وهي عبادة لله ﷾ بالتزام أمره واجتناب نهيه.