Is it permissible for a divorced woman to leave the house to attend to her needs or to visit relatives during the waiting period, or is she, by the ruling of a widow, not allowed to leave?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for a divorced woman to leave the house to attend to her needs or to visit one of her relatives during the waiting period, or is she, by the ruling of a widow, not allowed to leave until her waiting period is completed?
The Shaykh : The stronger opinion is that if the divorce is revocable, the divorced woman is like a wife who has not been divorced; that is, she may go out to her neighbors or relatives, or to the mosque to hear sermons or the like, and she is not like the one whose husband has died.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Talaq 65:1], the meaning of "driving out" is separation, meaning she does not leave the house and go to reside in another house. Likewise, they are not to drive her out of it so that she resides in another house. As for going out merely for a visit, there is nothing wrong with it. Thus, going out is of two types:
One is going out as a separation, meaning she leaves the house to go to another house, and this is not permissible, whether she leaves on her own or is driven out. The second is going out for a temporary reason and returning, and there is nothing wrong with that.
The Shaykh : The stronger opinion is that if the divorce is revocable, the divorced woman is like a wife who has not been divorced; that is, she may go out to her neighbors or relatives, or to the mosque to hear sermons or the like, and she is not like the one whose husband has died.
As for the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Do not turn them out of their [husbands'] houses, nor should they [themselves] leave
لا تُخْرِجُوهُنَّ مِنْ بُيُوتِهِنَّ وَلا يَخْرُجْنَOne is going out as a separation, meaning she leaves the house to go to another house, and this is not permissible, whether she leaves on her own or is driven out. The second is going out for a temporary reason and returning, and there is nothing wrong with that.