سورة البقرة

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah, the Glorified, clarified the ruling of the third divorce, and said: فَإِن طَلَّقَها [So if he divorces her] — and what is meant by [it] is the third divorce.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Ziyad said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A man divorced his wife three times. Then the woman entered into a temporary marriage [with another man]. Can that woman return to her first husband?" He said: No! She must enter into the same form of marriage that she came out of (that is, she must contract a permanent marriage). For Allah says: فَإِنْ طَلَّقَها فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّی تَنْکِحَ زَوْجاً غَیْرَهُ فَإِنْ طَلَّقَها فَلا جُناحَ عَلَیْهِما أَنْ یَتَراجَعا [So if he divorces her she shall not be lawful to him afterwards until she marries another husband; then if he divorces her there is no blame on them both if they return to each other], and there is no divorce in a sigha (temporary) or mut'ah (temporary marriage).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Concerning the word of Allah: فَإِنْ طَلَّقَها فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّی تَنْکِحَ زَوْجاً غَیْرَهُ [So if he divorces her she shall not be lawful to him afterwards until she marries another husband] — here the third divorce is meant, so that if the man [the other one who married the woman] divorces her in this way, there is no objection to [the former man, who had divorced her three times] returning to that woman through a new marriage.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Ishaq ibn Ammar that he said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A man divorced his wife (three times) in such a way that she would not become lawful to him except by marrying another; so he gave her in marriage to a slave, then [the slave] divorced her. Does the [ruling of the three] divorces get nullified [so that the man may marry her]?" He said: Yes! In view of Allah's word in His book: حَتَّی تَنْکِحَ زَوْجاً غَیْرَهُ [until she marries another husband] — [it is possible, for] that slave too counts as one instance of a husband [in this verse].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Which divorce is it after which the woman does not become lawful to him until she marries a man other than her [former] husband in [permanent] marriage?" The Imam answered: That divorce is where the man divorces his wife and then returns to her — and returning means intercourse with the wife. Then he divorces her again and returns to her, then he divorces her a third time — [in this case] until that woman contracts a [permanent] marriage with a man other than that man, she does not become lawful to him. What is meant by returning to the woman is having intercourse with her; but if the man does not divorce his wife in this manner [that is, does not have intercourse with her], it counts as one divorce, not three divorces!

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "What is the divorce in which the woman does not become lawful to him until she marries a man other than her husband in [permanent] marriage?" The Imam answered: I will inform you of this very divorce, for I divorced my own wife in this same manner. I had a wife and I wished to divorce her. So I did not have intercourse with her until she menstruated and became pure. Then I divorced her without having intercourse with her, in the presence of two witnesses; then I broke off relations with her until, when her waiting period (iddah) was near its end, I went to her [and remarried her] and had intercourse with her. Then I did not have intercourse with her again until she menstruated and became pure. Then I divorced her without intercourse in the presence of two witnesses; then I broke off relations with her until, when her waiting period was near its end, I returned to her [and remarried her] and had intercourse with her. Then I did not have intercourse with her again until she menstruated and became pure; then, without having intercourse with her, in the presence of witnesses, I divorced her. And the reason I did this to her [and made her thrice-divorced] was only that I no longer felt any need for her.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If a man says to his wife: "You are divorced," and then takes her back, then says: "You are divorced," and then takes her back, then says: "You are divorced," in that case, if that woman marries [permanently] a man other than her former husband, and that man divorces her, she can marry her first husband again. Then, if the second husband divorces her and does not bring a witness for this matter, [the first husband may], if he wishes, marry that woman.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who married a slave-woman, then divorced her in such a way (three times) that she would only become lawful to him after she married another man [and was divorced by him]. Then [this man] bought the slave-woman. "Can the man have relations with the woman, on account of the fact that she is now among his possessions and belongings?" He said: One verse makes her lawful to the man and another verse makes her unlawful. As for the verse which makes this woman unlawful, it is this: فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّى تَنْكِحَ زَوْجاً غَيْرَهُ [She shall not be lawful to him afterwards until she marries another husband]. And as for the verse which regards her as lawful, it is this saying of Allah: أَوْ ما مَلَكَتْ أَيْمانُكُمْ [Or those whom your right hands possess (make use of)] (Nisa/3). And I regard this as reprehensible and forbid myself and my children from it.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): If a man divorces a woman three times, she is thereafter unlawful to her husband unless [that woman] marries another man [and is divorced by him].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): [He was asked] concerning a man who divorces his wife once during her state of purity, then returns to her, then during [her next] state of purity [in the second divorce] divorces her three times so that the divorce becomes an irrevocable (ba'in) divorce — "Can the man return to that woman?" The Imam replied: "Yes!" The narrator says: I said to him: "Meaning, before she marries a man other than her former husband?" The Imam replied: "Yes!" The narrator says: I said to him: "What is the ruling on a man who divorces his wife once, then returns to her, then divorces her, then returns to her, then divorces her?" The Imam replied: "Until that woman marries [permanently] another man [and is then divorced by him], she does not become lawful to her former husband."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim says: A man divorced his wife and then separated from her until her waiting period ('idda) came to an end. Then he married her and then divorced her, without having had intercourse with her, and in this same manner divorced her three times. [What is the ruling on this man?] The Imam replied: That woman does not become lawful to her former husband until she marries (permanently) a man other than her former husband.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): If the man wishes to divorce the woman three times, let him divorce her, and the woman becomes separated from him from the moment the man divorced her, and marriage is not permissible [for the woman] until three months of her purity from menstruation have passed: وَ لَا یَحِلُّ لَهَا حَتَّی تَنْکِحَ زَوْجاً غَیْرَهُ [And she is not lawful to him until she marries a husband other than him]. And it is narrated that if the man divorces the woman with the "divorce of the Sunna" (talaq al-Sunna) according to what we have described, the woman never becomes lawful to him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If a man divorces a woman three times in such a way that she becomes lawful to him only through marriage to another, that woman never becomes lawful to him.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Whoever divorces his wife three times and does not take her back until she becomes separated, she becomes lawful for the former husband only if the woman marries another man [and is divorced from him]. So whenever the woman enters into the marriage of another and he has intercourse with her, marrying her first husband becomes permissible for him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I asked about a man who divorced his wife three times, then another man had sexual enjoyment (unlawful enjoyment) with that woman; "Is the woman lawful for the first man?" He said: "No!"

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Ja'far, the brother of Imam Kazim (peace be upon him), said: I asked: "A man divorces his wife with one divorce or two divorces. Then he leaves the woman until her waiting period ends. What is the ruling regarding such a woman?" He said: If he leaves that woman with the intention that he no longer wants her, returning to that woman is not lawful for him unless she marries another man; but if he leaves her while intending to return to her, even after the passing of a year, he has more right than others to return to and be married to that woman.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked about someone who gives a divorce, then takes her back, then divorces again and takes her back again; then divorces her for the third time. He said: The woman does not become lawful for him unless she marries another; so a woman whom a man has divorced three times, and she marries another man, and after the marriage that man divorces her according to the Sunnah, then she returns to her first husband; then her husband divorces her three times according to the Sunnah and she marries another and is divorced, then she returns to her first husband; then he divorces her three times according to the Sunnah and then she marries another. In this case, marriage with the first husband is never again permissible or lawful, and [likewise the one who performs] li'an [mula'ana] — returning to that woman is never permissible for him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Talaq al-Iddi" (divorce of the waiting period) is such that if a man wishes to divorce his wife, he waits until the woman has her menses and then becomes pure. Then, in the presence of two just witnesses, he divorces her before her waiting period. Then he takes her back but again divorces her. Then he takes her back and after that divorces her. So if he has divorced her three times, the woman becomes lawful for him only by marrying another. So if the woman marries another man but is divorced without intercourse, or the man dies, it is not permissible for the first man to marry that woman; until the woman marries another man and has intercourse with him; then he divorces her or dies; in that case the first man may marry her after the completion of her waiting period.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Safwan said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "Can an infertile [and castrated] man be the cause of a woman becoming lawful to her previous husband [after being divorced three times]?" His Holiness answered: "No! He does not bring about her becoming lawful."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whenever a man gives his wife three "iddi divorces," the husband cannot marry her until another marries her [and divorces her] ... Avoid marrying a woman who has been divorced three times in a single sitting and a single moment [because such a divorce in this manner is not counted as a triple divorce; rather, he must marry and then divorce her three times over again, and not merely say "you are triply divorced"], and such a woman still has a husband.