سورة الطلاق

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Halabi said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: And those of your women who have despaired of seeing (monthly) blood, if you are in doubt [whether they menstruate or not], their waiting period is three months, and [girls] who have not [yet] seen blood [their waiting period is also three months], and pregnant women — their term is that they lay down their burden; and whoever is mindful of Allah, [Allah] will make his affair easy for him. The waiting period of a woman who does not menstruate, and of a woman who menstruates but does not become pure, is three months; and the waiting period of a woman who menstruates and whose menses are without irregularity and are regular is three periods of purity. I asked him about the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ [If you are in doubt]: 'What is doubt?' He said: 'Whatever exceeds one month is doubt, and she must observe a waiting period of three months and set aside menstruation; and whatever falls within a month and does not exceed three menstrual periods — her waiting period is three menstrual periods.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَ اللَّائِی یَئِسْنَ مِنَ المَحِیضِ مِنْ نِسائِکُمْ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ [And those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, if you are in doubt, their waiting period is three months]. He said: 'Doubt (in the case of a woman whose pregnancy is uncertain) — her waiting period extends beyond one month; if a month has passed and she has not menstruated, and her state is like that of women who have despaired of menstruation, she should observe the waiting period by months (three months). If her menses return before her waiting period ends [and she menstruates], she must observe the waiting period according to the menstrual cycles (three periods of purity) and begin the waiting period from the start.'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The divorce of a pregnant woman is one, and it is such that when she lays down her burden [her waiting period is complete] and she is separated from the man and becomes irrevocably divorced. And Allah the Exalted has said: وَ أُولاتُ الْأَحْمالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَنْ یَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ [And as for pregnant women, their term is that they lay down their burden]. So when the man divorces her and she is delivered of her burden on that very day or the next day, her waiting period is complete and she may marry, except that the husband may not have intercourse with her until she becomes pure from post-natal bleeding. And the pregnant divorced woman should take the shorter of the two waiting periods (three months, or laying down the burden); so if three months pass and she has not given birth, her waiting period from that man is complete, but she has no right to marry until she gives birth; and if she is delivered of what was in her womb before three months, her waiting period is also complete.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrates from his fathers from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) who said: A pregnant woman's waiting period (idda) ends at the time of the birth of her child, and it is obligatory upon the husband to pay her maintenance in a fitting manner until she gives birth. This is the very statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: وَ أُولاتُ الْأَحْمالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَنْ یَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ [And (as for) the pregnant women, their prescribed time is that they lay down their burden]. When a man divorces his wife while she is pregnant, he must pay her maintenance until her child is born, and this ruling is for when both (husband and wife) are free (not a slave or bondmaid), whether the man is able to take her back [during the idda] (i.e., the divorce is revocable) or not (i.e., the divorce is irrevocable) [he must still provide her maintenance during pregnancy]. And this (ruling) is something on which we know of no disagreement. The Commander of the Faithful Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'A divorced woman has the right to receive maintenance in a fitting and customary manner, in proportion to her husband's ability, during her waiting period. And when the waiting period ends, she benefits from her husband's wealth in a fitting manner; this is a right upon the Allah-fearing men. So a divorced woman, as long as she is in her waiting period, has the right to housing and maintenance, whether she is pregnant or not — provided the husband has the right to take her back (meaning in a revocable divorce).'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): If she is pregnant, whenever she gives birth, her period comes to an end. This is the very statement of Allah the Exalted, who says: وَ اللَّائِی یَئِسْنَ مِنَ المَحِیضِ مِن نِّسَائِکُمْ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَ اللَّائِی لَمْ یَحِضْنَ و فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ أَیْضاً ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَ أُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن یَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ [And (as for) those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, if you have a doubt, their prescribed time shall be three months, and of those too who have not had their courses, their prescribed time is likewise three months; and (as for) the pregnant women, their prescribed time is that they lay down their burden].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ أُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن یَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ [And (as for) the pregnant women, their prescribed time is that they lay down their burden] — a pregnant divorced woman has time until she gives birth, and if she gives birth on the very day her husband divorced her, once she becomes pure (from postnatal bleeding) she may marry; and if she does not give birth for nine months, she cannot marry until she gives birth.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Halabi narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): I asked him about a woman whose husband has died, and she gives birth and then marries before four months and ten days have passed. He said: "If the man has had intercourse with her, they are separated and become forever forbidden to one another, and the woman observes the remainder of the waiting period ('idda) of her first husband, and after that she begins another waiting period from the other of three quru' (menstrual cycles). And if he had not had intercourse with her, they are separated, the woman observes the remainder of the waiting period of her first husband, and this man is like any other suitor who may propose to her."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): if a person divorces his pregnant wife and the woman miscarries her foetus with complete or incomplete limbs, or as a piece of chewed flesh, what is the ruling? Abu al-Hasan said: 'With any miscarriage that comes out of the womb and it is evident that it is a foetus, whether complete or incomplete, her waiting period has ended; even if it be a clot of blood or a lump of flesh (mudgha).'