Surah At-Talaq (Divorce)

1. Abdalla ibn Omar ibn al-Khattab divorced his wife while she was menstruating. Omar mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah, who became angry and told him to take her back until she finished menstruating, then menstruated again, and only after she had finished menstruating should he divorce her if he still wished to do so while she was in a period of purity and before he had any physical contact with her again. This is the prescribed period of delay that Allah has imposed before one can repudiate one’s wife. (Ibn Abbas said that he should not divorce her while she has her monthly period, nor if she is clean but he has had intercourse with her, but he should wait until she menstruates and becomes pure again. Only then can he divorce her.) This applies to married women who are not virgins and who have a monthly period. As for married women who are still virgins, they do not have a prescribed period of waiting. As for married women who are not virgins but do not have a monthly period, such as women in their menopause, or girls who have not reached puberty, there is a special judgement concerning them.
Allah Almighty orders the believers to calculate the period of delay to know its beginning and end, so that it may not be prolonged for the woman, and to respect the rules and rights that apply to it. Allah Almighty addresses His Prophet (peace be upon him) because he is the leader of his nation and its good example. Then Allah commands the believers to fear Allah and not to disobey Him in matters relating to divorcing women during the period of delay, and to give the women all their rights. During this period they should not drive the women from the homes in which they lived together before the divorce because it is the right of the wife as commanded by Allah to stay in the home; this right should not be transgressed except in such cases as the destruction of the house or a fire.
During the prescribed period, the wife should not leave the home unless it is very necessary, or if she has committed a proven turpitude which necessitates punishment such as adultery, stealing, immoral conduct or verbal obscenity. To repudiate women in accordance with a period of delay, calculating this period, fearing Allah Almighty and not driving them from their homes except for a convincing reason, these are the laws which Allah established and explained clearly. Believers should not transgress these limits. But he who exceeds them wrongs himself. For, although the husband does not know this, Allah may change his feelings of aversion towards his divorced wife to feelings of love, and he will then regret the separation if he has already repudiated his wife and sent her away for he cannot then take her back to cohabit with her.

2. When they fulfill their appointed term and their period is about to end (but before it actually ends), the husband must decide whether to take his wife back by a bond of marriage and treat her well, or to part with her on equitable terms and divorce her in the kindest manner without insult or violence and give her her legal rights such as the dowry, alimony, and the enjoyment of a convenient allocation. Allah Almighty commands that they should bring two just Muslim men as witnesses in cases of either divorce or taking back in marriage to avoid any dispute. For, should the husband die, his heirs might claim that he had never taken his wife back in marriage and would therefore deprive her of her inheritance. Or the wife herself might claim that she had been divorced before the death of her husband and that she had finished her period of delay and can thus marry another man without going through the period of delay which is due after the death of a husband. Allah commands believers to give just testimony and not to refuse to testify when called upon to do so. What Allah commanded the believers among His servants is a lesson for those who believe in Allah and the Last Day. They should adopt and follow it. Allah Almighty tells His believing servants that he who fears Allah in matters concerning divorced women and those who are in the prescribed period of delay, Allah will grant him relief from his hardships, and distress.

3. He who fears Allah, Allah will release him favourably and provide for him from sources he would never have expected. And he who puts his trust in Allah and entrusts all matters to Him, Allah will be sufficient for him from all his worries in life here below and the Hereafter. Allah will execute His judgement and orders on all His creatures. Allah has set a time and a measure for all things. So do not grieve, O believer, if you lack what you hoped for because all matters have a proportion and a determined delay. (“Everything is before His sight in due proportion.”) (See chapter 13- Al-Ra’d (Thunder), 8.)

4. In this verse, Allah Almighty says that the prescribed period of delay for women in their menopause due to old age or for young women who have not yet reached puberty is three months if you doubt or ignore what their prescribed period is and how long it is. The prescribed period for those who are pregnant is until the delivery of their baby, whether the period is long or short, or whether they are divorced or widows. He who fears Allah, Allah will make matters easy for him, relieve him from every distress, and fill his heart with a light to guide him to solve all his difficult problems.

5. This is Allah’s judgement and law sent down through His Messenger so you can follow it and act according to them. He who fears Allah, obeys His commands and refrains from what He has banned, Allah will forgive all his evil deeds and reward him for his good deeds.

6. Let the divorced women live in the same place as you live, according to your means. If you can only find a room next to yours, then let her stay there (for the dwelling is part of the provision which a husband owes his divorced wife and it is his responsibility). Do not annoy them and do not restrict them in their living quarters by occupying the place, or by letting someone whom they do not like living with stay with them and thus force them to leave the house. And if the wife is pregnant, then her husband or his guardian should provide for her until she delivers her child. If the divorced wife nurses her child who is born after the end of her prescribed period of delay, she could nurse her child in which case her husband should pay her for that (the same amount that he would pay someone else to nurse the child). She and her husband (or his guardian) agree on the amount. But if she refuses to nurse, the father can appoint another woman to do so. Allah Almighty urges the fathers and mothers to have mutual counsel in matters related to the child and decide what is best for him. He also urges them not to let money be an obstacle in fulfilling what is in the child’s best interest. So the husband should not be grudging, nor should the mother be difficult and demanding. But if they both make matters difficult to settle, the father can find another woman to nurse the child. But if the mother agrees to the same amount of wages as the stranger, then the mother has more right to nurse her child.

7. The father must provide for the nursing mother whom he divorced according to his wealth. If his means are limited he should spend accordingly for Allah does not charge anyone to provide for those he is responsible for beyond what He has given him. Allah will grant relief after distress, and ease after distress for life is not always the same.

8. Allah Almighty threatens those who disobey His commands, accuse His messengers of lying, and do not act according to His laws. He tells them about the punishment which He sent down to the previous nations who had cried lies. He says: “Many inhabitants of the towns disobeyed their Lord’s command. They rejected the messengers who were sent to them and transgressed. Allah will judge them severely and punish them with a painful torture in the Hereafter.”

9. They reaped the fruits of the evil deeds they had planted. The final result of their actions was their loss.

10. Allah Almighty has prepared for them a severe punishment in the Hereafter for their disbelief, injustice, and their turning away from the path of the messengers. Allah Almighty commanded the believers who are endowed with understanding to fear Allah, obey His commands and fear any disobedience so that they will not to be afflicted with what befell previous generations who cried lies. Almighty Allah had sent the Quran down to them to remind them of their Lord and Creator and of doing what pleases Him.

11. Allah Almighty sent to you, O believing men of sound minds and understanding, a messenger to recite to you the verses of the Quran which Allah revealed to him. They are clear verses for those who contemplate and understand them and lead those who have readiness for guidance from the darkness of disbelief to the light of faith. He who is guided to faith in Allah will be admitted to gardens in which rivers flow on all sides to dwell there forever. He will give him generous gifts and grant him all that his heart and eyes desire.

12. It is Allah Almighty who created the seven firmaments and as many earths. His command and determination are realized between them and His judgement is carried out. He manages the affairs in them according to His wide knowledge and wisdom. Allah Almighty sends down His preordainment and command between the skies and the earths so that you could know, O people, that Allah is capable of everything and has knowledge of everything.