The Book of Reversion (al-raj'ah)

It is established by the Book (Quran), the Sunnah, and consensus (ijma'). As for the Book, it is the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He: "And the divorced women shall wait [as regards their marriage] for three menstrual periods," up to His saying: "And their husbands have the better right to take them back in that period, if they wish for reconciliation" (Quran 2:228). The intended meaning of this is reversion (raj'ah) according to the group of scholars and experts in exegesis (tafsir). And the Almighty said: "And when you have divorced women and they have fulfilled the term of their prescribed period, either take them back on reasonable basis" (Quran 2:231), meaning by reversion, and its meaning is when they approach the completion of their term, meaning the end of their waiting period ('iddah). As for the Sunnah, it is what Ibn Umar narrated, saying: "I divorced my wife while she was menstruating, so Umar asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about it, and he said: 'Order him to take her back.'" (Agreed upon). Abu Dawud also narrated from Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) divorced Hafsa, then he took her back. The scholars have reached a consensus that if a free man divorces a free woman less than three times, or a slave divorces less than two times, they have the right of reversion during the waiting period. This was mentioned by Ibn al-Mundhir.

1289 - Issue: He said: (And the wife who has not been consummated with becomes irrevocably divorced by one pronouncement, and three pronouncements from a free man, or two from a slave, render her unlawful [to him]).

The scholars have reached a consensus that a woman with whom consummation has not taken place becomes irrevocably divorced by a single pronouncement, and her divorcee does not deserve her reversion; this is because reversion can only take place during the waiting period, and there is no waiting period before consummation, based on the saying of Allah, Exalted is He: "O you who believe! When you marry believing women, and then divorce them before you have sexual intercourse with them, no 'Iddah [waiting period] have you to count in respect of them. So give them a present, and set them free, i.e. divorce, in a handsome manner" (Quran 33:49). Thus, Allah, Exalted is He, clarified that there is no waiting period for her, so she becomes irrevocably divorced upon the mere pronouncement of her divorce, and she becomes like one who has been consummated with after the expiration of her waiting period; there is no reversion for her, and she has no maintenance. If her divorcee desires her, he is like any other suitor; he marries her with her consent [with a new marriage contract], and she returns to him with two remaining pronouncements. If he divorced her twice, then married her [again], she returns to him with one pronouncement, without any disagreement among the scholars. If he divorced her three times with a single utterance, she becomes unlawful to him until she marries a husband other than him, according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. We have already mentioned this previously. There is no disagreement among them that the woman divorced three times after consummation is not lawful for him until she marries a husband other than him, due to the saying of Allah, Exalted is He: "And if he has divorced her [the third time], then she is not lawful unto him thereafter until she has married another husband" (Quran 2:230). Aisha narrated that Rifa'ah al-Qurazi divorced his wife, and he finalized her divorce, so she married Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zubayr after him. She came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "She was with Rifa'ah, and he divorced her, finalizing the last of three divorces. Then she married Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zubayr after him, and by Allah, he has nothing with him except like this fringe." And she took a fringe of her jilbab. She said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) smiled and said: "Do you wish to return to Rifa'ah? No, not until you taste his sweetness and he tastes your sweetness." (Agreed upon). In the consensus of the scholars on this matter, there is sufficiency and no need to prolong the discussion. The majority of scholars hold that she is not lawful for the first husband until the second husband has sexual intercourse with her, an intercourse in which the meeting of the two circumcised parts occurs, except that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab from among them said: If...