The wife divorced thrice returning to the first husband after divorce from the second one

14-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

If a woman who has been divorced thrice returned to her previous husband after her second husband dies or divorces her without a previous agreement on that, how many pronouncements of divorce become available for her first husband according to the four schools of Islamic Fiqh?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

In such a case, she can return to her first husband with three available times of divorce. Scholars agreed on that without the least difference of opinion between the schools be they the four main schools or otherwise. Imaam Ash-Shaafi‘i said:

Allaah The Almighty Says about the woman divorced thrice (what means): {And if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until [after] she marries a husband other than him.} [Quran 2:230] He Made the ruling of the woman divorced thrice unlawful for her husband unless she marries another man who either dies or divorces her. After the expiry of the ‘Iddah, she is entitled to return to her previous husband with three available new times of divorce as if they are married for the first time, even if this recurred incessantly.

Ibn Al-Munthir mentioned the scholars’ consensus about this ruling. He said, “Scholars unanimously agree that if a free man divorces a free woman and her ‘Iddah expires and she marries another man who consummated the marriage with her and then divorces her and her ‘Iddah expires, then, the first husband marries her, there will be three pronouncements of divorce for him against her.”

Allaah Knows best.