The Bid'ah Divorce, the Sunnah Divorce, and the Difference Between Them

Question:
This questioner says, Honorable Shaykh, I hope that Honorable Shaykh Salih will inform us about the bid'ah divorce and the sunnah divorce and the rulings related to this. May you be rewarded.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. In principle, one should not resort to divorce except out of necessity. The hadith states: Therefore, one should not resort to it except out of necessity, when it is not possible to continue the marital relationship. At that point, Allah the Exalted said: .
However, if the continuation of the marital relationship is possible, that is what the Lawgiver has encouraged. Even if he dislikes something in his wife, he should be patient with her. Allah the Exalted said: . And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: the other trait. A woman is naturally inclined to have some traits that her husband dislikes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But when the need for divorce arises and the continuation of the marriage becomes impossible, difficult, or burdensome, then one resorts to divorce. At that point, the lawful divorce, the sunnah divorce, is the lawful divorce. It is that he divorces her with a single pronouncement during a period of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her. Then he leaves her until her waiting period ends. If he wishes, and if he wishes to take her back during the waiting period, there is no harm in that. Therefore, this is recommended and encouraged. Allah the Exalted said: "And their husbands have the better right to take them back in the meantime," meaning during the waiting period. So it is encouraged that he take her back. And Allah the Exalted says: , and he should not expel her even from the house. As long as she has been divorced with less than three pronouncements, she is his wife as long as she is in the waiting period. She has the right to housing with her husband, so she remains in her house. And if he wishes, it is recommended for her to adorn herself and make herself available to him. If he wishes to take her back, this is a matter encouraged by the Shari'ah. And Allah the Exalted says: , meaning the opinion of the divorcing husband changes and he desires his wife, so he has an opportunity to take her back. This is the wisdom behind making divorce of this nature. He the Exalted said: Divorce is twice, not once, twice, and the third time she is released by it. , therefore the separation of the divorce pronouncements was legislated, and that it not be pronounced with a single word, or in a single period of purity, nor should it be repeated during the waiting period. He leaves her. If he desires her, he takes her back; he has a field for that. If he does not desire her, she is released at the end of the waiting period. If her waiting period ends, she is released with a minor release. This is the sunnah divorce: that he divorces her with a single pronouncement during a period of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her. If these two conditions are met—a single pronouncement during a period of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her—this is the sunnah divorce. The bid'ah divorce is what contradicts this: that he divorces her while she is menstruating, or that he divorces her during a period of purity in which he had intercourse with her, or that he combines the three pronouncements in a single word. This is the bid'ah divorce, because the bid'ah is the opposite of the sunnah, because it is contrary to what Allah commanded. Yes.