And because it is an ‘idda (waiting period) for a pure, permissible divorce, it must be considered immediately following the divorce, like the ‘idda (20) of a woman who has reached menopause and a minor (21). Our argument is the saying of Allah the Almighty: "And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women, if you are in doubt, their ‘idda is three months, and [likewise] for those who have not menstruated" (22). He transferred them, in the absence of menstruation, to waiting by months, which indicates that the original [criterion] is menstruation, just as He said: "And you find no water, then seek clean earth" (23), and the rest of the verse. Furthermore, it is conventional in the language of the Shari‘ah to use the term qur’ to mean menstruation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "She shall leave prayer for the days of her quru’." Narrated by Abu Dawud (24). And he said to Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh: "Look; when your qur’ comes, do not pray, and when your qur’ passes, then purify yourself, then pray between one qur’ and the next." Narrated by al-Nasa’i (25). It is not known in his speech for it to be used to mean the period of purity in any instance, so it must be understood according to its conventional usage in his speech. It was also narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "The divorce of a slave woman is two pronouncements, and her quru’ are two menstruations." Narrated by Abu Dawud and others (26). If they say: "This is narrated by Muzahir ibn Aslam (27), who is munkar al-hadith (a narrator of rejected hadith)." We say: It has been narrated by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Isa, from ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi, from Ibn ‘Umar, just as Ibn Majah recorded it in his "Sunan" and Abu Bakr al-Khallal in his "Jami‘," and it is a clear text (nass) regarding the ‘idda of a slave woman, so it is the same for the ‘idda of a free woman. Furthermore, the apparent meaning of His saying, "they shall wait by themselves for three quru’," is the obligation of waiting for three full ones; and whoever considers the quru’ to be periods of purity does not require three [full] ones, because he suffices with two periods of purity and part of a third, thus contradicting the apparent meaning of the text. But whoever considers them to be menstruations mandates three full ones, thereby adhering to the apparent meaning of the text, which is more appropriate than contradicting it. Also, because the ‘idda is a process of istibra’ (clearing the womb), it must therefore be by menstruation, like the istibra’ of a slave woman; this is because istibra’ is for knowing the freedom of the womb from pregnancy, and menstruation indicates this, so it must be the means of istibra’.