Previously, I divorced my wife twice with an irregular divorce, and then I divorced her a third time with a khul' divorce. Now I have taken her back. Is this last marriage lawful or forbidden?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner says: Previously, I divorced my wife twice with an irregular divorce, and then I divorced her a third time, and this divorce was a khul' divorce.
The Shaykh : Irregular?
The questioner : Khul'.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : Khul'.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And now I have taken her back. Is this last marriage lawful or forbidden? And what are the consequences for me, knowing that I have four sons from her?
The Shaykh : Yes, if he divorced her twice initially and then divorced her via khul' the third time, the khul' is not counted as a divorce. Consequently, she becomes lawful to him with a new contract, because khul' is a final separation, and a woman divorced via khul' does not become lawful to her husband except with a new contract. So we tell this brother: Contract with her now, whether she is in the waiting period or after the waiting period, and marry her. However, you have only one divorce left. So beware of divorcing her, for you have divorced her with a major final separation. As for the fact that he previously divorced her with an irregular divorce, in my opinion, this is not considered, because people have started now, when their options are exhausted, to say, "We divorced with an irregular divorce initially." For example, he may have divorced her ten years ago while she was menstruating, and she left, and if someone had married her after her waiting period at that time, would he consider it as marrying his wife or marrying a woman who had been finally separated from him? Do you understand the question or not? A man divorces his wife during menstruation and then takes her back; is this divorce considered a divorce at that time? There is no doubt that it is considered a divorce. Therefore, if her waiting period ended and another man married her, there would be no objection, because he believed the divorce had taken place. But now that it has become clear that an irregular divorce does not take place, people are digging into the past. A person will say, "By Allah, twenty years ago I divorced her while she was menstruating, and ten years ago I divorced her during a period of purity in which I had intercourse with her, and today I divorced her while I was angry. How many times have I divorced her?"
The questioner : Three.
The Shaykh : And he wants to wipe out all three, because the first divorce was during menstruation, the second was during a period of purity in which he had intercourse with her, and the third was in anger. This means that no divorce ever took place on him, and people resort to such claims.
The Shaykh : Irregular?
The questioner : Khul'.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : Khul'.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And now I have taken her back. Is this last marriage lawful or forbidden? And what are the consequences for me, knowing that I have four sons from her?
The Shaykh : Yes, if he divorced her twice initially and then divorced her via khul' the third time, the khul' is not counted as a divorce. Consequently, she becomes lawful to him with a new contract, because khul' is a final separation, and a woman divorced via khul' does not become lawful to her husband except with a new contract. So we tell this brother: Contract with her now, whether she is in the waiting period or after the waiting period, and marry her. However, you have only one divorce left. So beware of divorcing her, for you have divorced her with a major final separation. As for the fact that he previously divorced her with an irregular divorce, in my opinion, this is not considered, because people have started now, when their options are exhausted, to say, "We divorced with an irregular divorce initially." For example, he may have divorced her ten years ago while she was menstruating, and she left, and if someone had married her after her waiting period at that time, would he consider it as marrying his wife or marrying a woman who had been finally separated from him? Do you understand the question or not? A man divorces his wife during menstruation and then takes her back; is this divorce considered a divorce at that time? There is no doubt that it is considered a divorce. Therefore, if her waiting period ended and another man married her, there would be no objection, because he believed the divorce had taken place. But now that it has become clear that an irregular divorce does not take place, people are digging into the past. A person will say, "By Allah, twenty years ago I divorced her while she was menstruating, and ten years ago I divorced her during a period of purity in which I had intercourse with her, and today I divorced her while I was angry. How many times have I divorced her?"
The questioner : Three.
The Shaykh : And he wants to wipe out all three, because the first divorce was during menstruation, the second was during a period of purity in which he had intercourse with her, and the third was in anger. This means that no divorce ever took place on him, and people resort to such claims.