Chapters on the Suspension of Divorce

If he says to his wife, 'If you menstruate, you are divorced,' and she says, 'I have menstruated,' and he believes her, she is divorced. If he denies her statement, there are two narrations regarding it. The first is that her word is accepted because she is a trustee over herself. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i, and it is the apparent (zahir) view of the school, because Allah the Almighty says: {And it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs} (1). It has been said that this refers to menstruation and pregnancy. Were her word not accepted regarding it, it would not have been forbidden for her to conceal it. This becomes like what Allah the Almighty said: {And do not conceal testimony} (2). When He prohibited its concealment, it indicated its acceptance; thus it is here. Furthermore, because it is an attribute within her that is known only through her, it is necessary to refer to her word regarding it, similar to the completion of her waiting period ('idda). The second narration is that her word is not accepted; rather, women shall examine her by inserting a piece of cotton into the vagina during the time she claims to have menstruated. If blood appears, she is menstruating; otherwise, she is not. Ahmad said, in the narration of Muhanna, regarding a man who said to his wife, 'If you menstruate, you are divorced, and my slave is free,' and she said, 'I have menstruated': 'Women examine her; she is given a piece of cotton and she withdraws it. If blood comes out, she is menstruating; she is divorced and the slave is emancipated.' Abu Bakr said: 'This is my view.' This is because it is possible to arrive at the knowledge of menstruation through someone other than her, so her word alone is not accepted, similar to entering a house. The first is the school's view, and perhaps Ahmad only considered evidence (bayyina) in this narration because of the emancipation of the slave, for her word is only accepted regarding herself, not for anyone else. And is her oath considered when we say: 'The word is her word'? There are two views, based on the case where she claims her husband divorced her and he denies it. Her word is not accepted except regarding herself exclusively, not for other things, such as the divorce of another woman or the emancipation of a slave. Ahmad explicitly stated this regarding a man who said to his wife, 'If you menstruate, you are divorced,' and [to] this one with you.