Benefits of the Hadith: (… from Ibn 'Umar that he divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about it

The Shaykh : In this hadith, there are benefits, among which is the permissibility of appointing a representative or entrusting a matter in knowledge, because 'Umar asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) either by agency from his son or by entrustment from his son. Among the benefits is the prescription of asking about doubtful matters, because 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that. Among the benefits is the permissibility of appointing a representative to give an order, due to his saying . At that point, we have two orders: the order of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the order of 'Umar. The direct order to Ibn 'Umar is what? It is his father's order. The order above it, upon which his father's order was based, is the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Among the benefits of this hadith is the command for one who divorces his wife while she is menstruating to take her back. But what is the meaning of taking her back? Most scholars and imams hold that it means taking her back from a divorce, because there is no taking back except after a divorce. However, this opinion is weak, because the claim that there is no taking back except after a divorce is not correct. In the Noble Qur'an, Allah the Exalted says . Who is the actor? The first husband, or the second? "Upon them"—does it mean upon the second husband or the first?
The students: The first.

The Shaykh : The first husband and the wife, that they should reconcile, even though this is not a taking back but rather the beginning of a new marriage. So Allah called the return of the woman to her husband a "taking back," even though it is not from a divorce. Accordingly, "let him take her back" means he should return her to his protection and annul the divorce. This is indicated by the meaning that if we ordered him to take her back and then divorce her, we would have restricted what is broad for him. Because if he takes her back and the first divorce is counted, then he divorces her a second time, only one divorce would remain for him, so we would have restricted him. The Shari'ah intends to reduce divorce. It is thus clear that this does not support the majority opinion, neither in terms of wording nor in terms of meaning. Among the benefits of this hadith is that anything that can be described as valid or defective, if it occurs contrary to the command, is defective and not considered. Because divorce is described as valid or defective, and lawful or forbidden, is that not so? If it occurs in the manner that is forbidden, it becomes defective. We limited this to what is lawful and forbidden so that, for example, zihar does not come back to us. Zihar has its rulings established, even though it is what? It is a forbidden, evil statement and a lie, and its rulings are established. Qadhf (false accusation of adultery) has its rulings established, even though it is forbidden. Because zihar, qadhf, and the like of forbidden speech are not divided into lawful and forbidden, or valid and defective. As for divorce, it is divided into lawful and forbidden; what is lawful is effective, and what is forbidden is rejected, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) . Among the benefits of this hadith is the punishment for one who hastens to do something in a forbidden manner by delaying that thing for him, because he said , even though the obstacle is removed by her purity from the menstruation in which the divorce occurred, is that not so?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, it is so. And if it is removed, the implication is that it is permissible to divorce after her purity from the menstruation. But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to prolong the period for him because he hastened in a forbidden manner. Among the benefits of this hadith is that the rulings of what is forbidden, which can be valid or defective, are established even if the one who did it was ignorant when he did it, because it is unlikely that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) knew the prohibition of divorce and then performed it. Among the benefits of the hadith is the affirmation of the will for the servant, and the innovators who opposed this are who? The Jabriyyah. The Jabriyyah say that man has no will; man is compelled, he cannot move his hand except by compulsion, he cannot marry except by compulsion, and he cannot divorce except by compulsion. It is known that this is something rejected by reason, revelation, and sense. Among the benefits of this hadith is the interpretation by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of the Noble Qur'an, because he said: "That is the waiting period that Allah the Mighty and Majestic ordered women to be divorced for," due to His saying . And His saying "that" means the referred-to divorce in a state of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her. So the waiting period is the waiting period of a divorce in a state of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her, did you understand?
The students: In which he did not have intercourse with her.

The Shaykh : In which he did not have intercourse with her. The point is that if he divorces her during menstruation, the remainder of the menstruation is not counted, so it is void, and thus he has not divorced her for the waiting period. And if he divorces her in a state of purity in which he had intercourse with her, the waiting period is doubtful; we do not know if she becomes pregnant from this intercourse, in which case the waiting period would be by the delivery of the child, or if she does not become pregnant, in which case the waiting period would be by the three menstrual cycles. So the waiting period is thus uncertain. He did not divorce her for their waiting periods because the waiting period is now unknown; is it the delivery of the child or the menstrual cycles? Why? Because it is possible that she becomes pregnant from this intercourse, and if it is possible and probable, then he has not divorced her for the waiting period. Do you understand, my brothers? By this, we know that the stronger opinion regarding the repetition of the formula of divorce is that what exceeds one does not take effect; what exceeds the single sentence does not take effect. For example, if a man says to his wife, "You are divorced today," and if he says to his wife on Saturday, "You are divorced," and on Sunday he says, "You are divorced," without taking her back in between, she is not divorced except once, according to the stronger opinion. If a person reflects on it, it becomes clear to him that it is not permissible to deviate from it, even though the majority is contrary to it, because the second and third divorces are not for the waiting period. The waiting period was established by what? By the first divorce. So the second and third occurred without a waiting period. For this reason, if he divorces today in a state of purity in which he did not have intercourse with her, then she menstruates, then he divorces her a second time without taking her back, does the waiting period restart and the first menstruation become void, or does it not restart? It does not restart, even according to the madhhab, it does not restart. So it is said: Now, the second divorce that occurred after the menstruation, did he divorce her for the waiting period? Did he divorce her with it for the waiting period? No, because she did not restart the waiting period. By this, it becomes clear that the stronger opinion is what the Shaykh al-Islam chose in this issue: that if divorce is repeated, what comes after the first is annulled. Why? Because it occurred contrary to the waiting period, so it is contrary to the command of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He in His saying . At that point, the hadith applies to it. Good. Among the benefits of this hadith is that when a person mentions Allah the Mighty and Majestic, he should follow it with "the Exalted" or "the Mighty and Majestic" or "the Glorious in Mention" or the like. Just as when you say "The Messenger of Allah said," you follow it with "peace and blessings be upon him." So Allah is more worthy of being praised. You say, for example, "May Allah preserve you, the Exalted," and the like. But this seems to me to be among the things that pass us by in the Sunnah that is not as confirmed as the sending of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And that is because it is obligatory for one who hears the mention of the Messenger to send blessings upon him, but it is not obligatory for one who hears the mention of Allah to praise Him. Because the mere name is praise for Allah the Mighty and Majestic. The mere name of Allah is praise for Allah the Mighty and Majestic, where He is described with the divinity that is not fitting except for Allah the Mighty and Majestic.