And she says: 'Rather, it was after the delivery, so I am entitled to maintenance, and you have the right of revocation.' The statement to be accepted is hers, because the original state is the continuation of maintenance and the absence of any factor that would terminate it, and she is in the waiting period (iddah), and the husband has no right of revocation because he admitted its absence. If he returns and validates her claim, he then has the right of revocation because she has acknowledged his right to it. If he says: 'I divorced you after the delivery, so I have the right of revocation, and you are entitled to maintenance,' and she says: 'Rather, it was while I was pregnant,' the statement to be accepted is his, because the original state is the continuation of the right of revocation, and she is not entitled to maintenance, nor is she in a waiting period (iddah) as it is a right of Allah, the Exalted, and thus her statement is accepted regarding it. If he returns and validates her claim, his right of revocation lapses, and she becomes entitled to maintenance. This is according to the outward ruling, but as for what is between him and Allah, the Exalted, it is based on what he knows to be the reality of the matter, not what he has stated.

Section: If a man divorces his wife and she claims to be pregnant in order to receive maintenance, he shall provide for her for three months, then the midwives (qawabil) shall be consulted after that, because pregnancy becomes apparent after three months, unless her freedom from pregnancy is manifest through menstruation or otherwise, in which case her maintenance is severed, just as it is severed when the midwives say: 'She is not pregnant.' He shall then reclaim from her what he spent, because she took from him what she was not entitled to, so he reclaims it from her, just as if she claimed a debt against him and took it from him, then her falsehood became apparent. There is another narration from Ahmad: He does not reclaim it from her, because he provided for her according to the rules of the effects of marriage, so he does not reclaim it, just like maintenance in an invalid marriage when its invalidity becomes apparent. If she knew of her freedom from pregnancy by menstruation and concealed it, it is appropriate that he should reclaim it from her, according to a single opinion, because she took the maintenance while knowing her freedom from it, just as if she had taken it from his wealth without his knowledge. If a woman in a revocable divorce (raj'iyyah) claims pregnancy and he provides for her for longer than the duration of her waiting period, he shall reclaim from her the excess, and the matter for the duration of the waiting period is referred back to her, because she is more knowledgeable about it, so her statement is accepted.