سورة الأحزاب

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): فَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ وَ سَرِّحُوهُنَّ سَراحاً جَمیلاً [So make some provision for them and send them forth a goodly sending forth]; that is, as far as you are able, benefit them with good deeds and a suitable gift, for they return from the husband's home to their own family with sadness, fear, intense worry and gloating from their enemies. And Allah is Generous and Bountiful. He Himself has modesty and loves the people of modesty, and the most honourable among you is the one who most honours his wife.

The Imams (peace be upon them): Regarding the noble verse فَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ وَ سَرِّحُوهُنَّ سَراحاً جَمِیلًا [So make some provision for them and send them forth a goodly sending forth], Ibn Abbas said: This ruling concerns one for whom no mahr has been specified; but if her mahr is specified, he must pay half of it, and mut'ah (the provision) is not due to her. This hadith has also been narrated from our Imams (peace be upon them).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: I was present when my father asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'If a man marries and brings his wife to his home and divorces her before intercourse, must that woman observe the iddah (waiting period) of divorce?' Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'The iddah of divorce has been made obligatory only because of the husband's semen and the possibility of pregnancy.' Someone asked: 'So if he has intercourse but discharges his semen outside the womb, is the iddah of divorce not obligatory?' Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'After intercourse, ghusl, the mahr and the iddah of divorce all become obligatory.'

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ishaq ibn Ammar narrates from Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) that he said: I asked him: "If a man marries and enters the bridal chamber and shuts the doors and draws the curtains, but then claims that he did not have relations with the woman, and the woman also confirms the bridegroom's claim — must she observe the iddah (waiting period)?" Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: "No, she has no iddah — that is, if the man and woman are trustworthy, their statements will be accepted." I said: "If some acts took place and others did not, what is their ruling?" Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: "Even if the man merely released his semen (الْمَاء) [seminal fluid], the woman must observe the iddah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A man marries a woman and is alone with her [behind a curtain and closed door], then divorces her. The woman is asked whether he had intercourse with her, and she denies it, and the man is also questioned on this matter, and he too denies having had intercourse with her." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Their statement is not accepted, because the woman wishes to relieve herself of the ʿidda (waiting period) and the man wishes to relieve himself of the mahr (dowry). This applies when the two of them are under suspicion."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Halabi said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who divorced his wife after having touched her but without intercourse — does this woman have an ʿidda (waiting period)? Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) was also asked such a question, and his noble father, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), said to him: "If he has closed a door and drawn a curtain [over her], the mahr (dowry) and the ʿidda become obligatory."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Habib ibn Abi Thabit said: I was sitting with Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) when a man came into his presence and said: "I have said, 'On the day I marry so-and-so woman, she is divorced.'" He said: "Go and marry her, for indeed Allah the Exalted established marriage before divorce." Then the Imam recited this noble verse.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When a man divorces his wife before consummating [the marriage] with her, they separate from one another without an ʿidda (waiting period), and the woman may marry at that very moment. If the husband has fixed a mahr (dowry) for her, he must give her half of it; and if he has not fixed anything, he must send her off with a provision of goods and belongings.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In the case where a man divorces his wife before he lies with her, the woman is separated from that man and may, from the very moment of the divorce, marry whomever she wishes; and in the case where he has fixed a mahr (dowry) for her, he must give her half of it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A woman whose husband divorces her in absentia — if she knows the day on which he divorced her, she observes the 'idda (waiting period) from that day; but if she does not know the day of her divorce, she must observe the 'idda from the day on which she is informed. This is because a woman whose husband has died is required to abstain from adornment, and therefore she does not begin her 'idda from the day of her husband's death, but rather she must observe the 'idda from the day the news of her husband's death reached her — because she must abstain from adornment. However, abstaining from adornment is not required for a divorced woman, so if on the very day she was divorced she was aware of the matter, she observes the 'idda from that same day; but if she is unaware, she must observe the 'idda from the day the news of the divorce is conveyed to her. And if the husband divorces her before consummation, the divorce will be ba'in (irrevocable), and if the woman wishes she may marry [another man] at that very hour, as Allah the Exalted says: ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ فَما لَکُمْ عَلَیْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَها [Then divorce them before you touch them, you have in their case no term which you should reckon].