Triple Divorce
The question of whether a man may divorce his wife by uttering a single statement of divorce pronounced as three divorces all at once or three statements of divorce on a single occasion has been well covered.
Some prominent jurists from other schools,[1113] as well as the personal status codes of some Muslim countries, adopted Ja'far alSdiq's position that requires divorce pronouncements to be issued one by one, in three different sessions. There is no need to delve into this issue deeply as it is covered in each and every work on Islamic family law.[1114] It should suffice to note that Qur'an 2:229-30 set the standard for legal divorce, and it does not permit a triple divorce to be uttered in a single pronouncement. However, in response to specific circumstances in his time, 'Umar declared that, as a matter of discipline, he would hold people responsible for reckless utterances of a triple divorce. His ruling remained the norm in the Sunni schools of law, which considered triple divorce in a single pronouncement wrong, but nevertheless granted it full legal effect. Ja'far al-Sadiq and his father disagreed with this ruling, arguing that only a legal divorce should have legal effect. The following reports explain their viewpoints and arguments:روي عن الأئمة — علهم اسللام — أن طلاق اسلئة هو أده إذا أرد الرجل أن يطلق امرأته ترتض بها حى تحيض وتطهربم يطفها بشاهدين عدلين ي موقف واحد بلغظة واحدة، فإن أشهد على الطلاق رجلاوأشهد بعد ذلك الثاني لم تحزذلك الطلاق إلاأن يشهدهما جميعا ي مجلس واحد.
فإذا مضت بها ثلاثة أطهار فقد بانت منه. فإن تزوجها بعد ذلك تزوجها بمهر جديد. فإن أرد طلاقها طلفها للستة على ما وصفت. ومتى طلفها طلاق الستة فجائزل أن يتزوجها بعد ذلك. وكل طلاق خالف الستة فهو باطل. ومن طلق امرأته للستة فهل أن يرإجعها ما لم تتقضى عدتها. فإذا انقضت عدتها بانتن منه. وعلى المطلق للستة نفقة المرأة واسلكى ما دامت ي عدتها، وهما يتوارثان حى تتقضى العدة.[1115]It was reported from the Imams that a [valid] divorce according to the Sunna is that the man who wants to divorce his wife waits until she commences and then concludes a menstrual cycle, and then he may divorce her in the presence of two upright witnesses, in one setting, and in one pronouncement.
If one man witnesses the divorce and another man bears witness to it at a later time, the divorce is not effective until they bear witness together in a single setting. Once three periods of purity have elapsed, then the wife is separated from the husband. If he remarries her after that, he does so with a new dower. If he decides to divorce her [again], he should do so according to the Sunna, as described. When he divorces her according to the Sunna, he is permitted to marry her again. Any divorce contrary to the Sunna is invalid. Whoever divorces his wife according to the Sunna may take her back so long as her waiting period has not concluded; if her waiting period concludes, she is separated from him. Whoever divorces according to the Sunna owes his wife maintenance and lodging as long as she is in her waiting period, and they inherit from one another until the waiting period is concluded.أبوبصير عن أبي عبد هللا قال: سألنه عن طلاق الشئة؟ فقال: طلاق الئتة إذا أرد الرجل أن يطلق امرأته يدعها إن كان قد دخل بها حى تحيض ثم تطهر، فإذا طهرت طلقها واحدة ببشهادة شاهدين، ثم يركها حى نفتد ثلاثة قروء، فإذا مضت ثلاثة قروء فقد باننا منه بواحدة، وكان زوجها خاطبا من الخطاب، إن شاءت تزوجته ون شاءت لم تفعل.
فإن تزوجها بمهرجديدكاننا عنده على اثنتين باقيتين وقد مضت الواحدة. فإن هوطلنها واحدة أخرى على طهرمن غيرجماع بشهادة شاهدين ثم تكها حى بمغي اقراؤها، فإذا مضت اقراؤها من قبل أن يراجعها فقد بانت منه باثنتين، وملكت أمرها، وحدتا للازواج، وكان زوجها خاطبا من الخطاب، إن شاءت تزوجته وإن شاءت لم تفعل. فإن هو تزوجها تزوتحا جديدا بمهر جديد كاننا معه بواحدة باقية وقد مضت اثنتان، فإن أراد أن يطللها طلاها لاتحل ل حى ثكح زوجا غيره، تركها حى إذا حاضت وطهرت وأشهد على طلاقها تطلقة واحدة، ثم لاتحل ل حى ثكح زوجا غيره.وأما طلاق الرجعة فأن يدعها حى تحيض وتطهرثم يطللها بشهادة شاهدين ثم يرإجعها ويواقعها ثمثتتظربها الطهر.
فإذا حاضت وطهرت أشهد شاهدين على تطبقة أخرى ثم يرإجعها ولواقعها ثم ;ينتظربها الطهر، فإذا حاضت وطهرت أشهد شاهدين على التطبقة الثالثة. ثم لا تحل ل أبعدا حى تتنكح زوجا غيره. وعبها أن تفتئا ثلاثة قروء من بوم طللها التطبقة الثالثة. فإن طللها واحدة على طهربشهود ثم اتتطربها حى تحيض وتطهر ثم طللها قبل أن يراجعها [لم] بكن طلاقه الثاني طلاها لأله طلق طالعا، لأئه إذا كاتمنا المرأة مطللة من زوجهاكاننا خارجة من ملكه حى يرإجعها، فإذا راجعها صارت في ملكه ما لم يطلق التطبقة الثالثة. فإذا طللها التطبقة الثالثة فقد خرج مكل الرجعة من يده، فإن طللها على طهر بشهود ثم راجعها واتتظر بها الطهرمن غيرمواقعة فحاضت وطهرت ثم طللها قبل أن يدتشها بمواقعة بعد الرجعة لم كن طلاقه لها طلاها، لأنه طللها التطبقة الثانية في طهرالأولى ولاتنقض الطهر إلا بمواقعة بعد الرجعة، وكذلك لا ;كون التطبقة الثالثة إلا بمراجعة ومواقعة بعد المراجعة ثم حيض وطهربعد الحيض ثم طلاق بشهود حى ;كون لكل تطبيقة طهرمن تدنيس المواقعة بشهود.[1116][Abu Basil:] I asked Abu 'Abd Allah about divorce according to the Sunna. He said, “Divorce according to the Sunna is when a man who wants to divorce his wife avoids her [that is, does not have intercourse with her], if he has already had intercourse with her [after her last menstrual period], until she starts menstruating and then stops. When the menstrual period ends, he divorces her once with two witnesses present. He then leaves her for a waiting period of three menstrual cycles. Once three menstrual cycles pass, she is separated from him by one statement of divorce. [Should she want to remarry], her former husband can be one of her suitors, and she is free to marry him or not. If he marries her with a new dower, she is with him with two [divorces] remaining; one having been used. If he divorces her once again when she is in a state of purity during which they have not had intercourse, with the presence of two witnesses, and then leaves her until her [three] menstrual cycles pass, then once her menstrual cycles elapse and he has not assumed her back, then she has separated from him twice. Once again, she has authority over her own affairs and is permitted to marry others. Her [former] husband can again be one of the suitors, and she is free to marry him or not. If he marries her anew with a new dower, she is with him with one remaining [divorce], two having been used. If he wishes to divorce her—[such that] she would no longer be lawful for him until she has married someone else—he must leave her until she commences and concludes a menstrual cycle and a single divorce is issued and witnessed. Then she is not lawful for him until she has married someone else.
“The recurrent divorce is when he avoids her until she commences and concludes her menstrual cycle, then he divorces her in the presence of two witnesses, then he takes her back [that is, they recommence the union] and has intercourse with her, and then he waits until she concludes a menstrual cycle. Once she has commenced and concluded a menstrual cycle, he secures two witnesses to another divorce; then he returns to her, has intercourse with her, and awaits the conclusion of another menstrual cycle. Once she has commenced and concluded a menstrual cycle, and he has secured two witnesses to a third divorce, she is no longer lawful to him until she has married someone else. She must wait three menstrual cycles from the day he divorces her for the third time.
“If he divorced her once in the presence of witnesses, waited for the commencement and conclusion of a menstrual cycle, and then divorced her before taking her back, that does not count as a second divorce because he only divorced her once. That is because if a woman is divorced by her husband, she is no longer under his authority until he takes her back. If he takes her back, she is under his authority so long as he does not proclaim a third divorce. If he divorces her a third time, he no longer has the authority to take her back. If he divorced her while she was in a state of ritual purity and in the presence of witnesses, then assumed her back and waited until she concluded her period of purity without having intercourse with her, then she commenced and concluded a menstrual cycle, and then he divorced her without having soiled her with intercourse after taking her back, that does not count as a divorce. This is because he issued the second divorce while she was still in a state of purity following the first [divorce], and the requisite period of ritual purity does not elapse until there is intercourse after he has taken her back. Likewise, the third divorce does not occur unless he has taken her back, they have had intercourse after she has come back, and her menstruation commences and concludes; [only] then can the divorce occur in the presence of witnesses. Each divorce must be done with witnesses [after] assuming a state of purity following the soiling of intercourse.”
V.
More on the topic Triple Divorce:
- Triple Talaq
- Classical Rome had a very liberal divorce policy (as did Greco-Roman Egypt; see Part III). By the first century B.C.E., women who were not married with manus [see Chapter 1, Part II.B.] had the right to divorce their husbands unilaterally, and eventually the same right was enjoyed by women married with manus.
- Banning Triple Talaq: The Supporters' Claims
- Alternative Voices, Triple Talaq Law and the Question of Reform
- The triple stalemate
- The Institutional Basis for the Triple Assault
- 5 MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW AND TRIPLE TALAQ
- Opponents of Triple Talaq Law and Their Claims
- A Definition and causes of divorce
- CHAPTER SEVEN Subverting Symbols Heads, horns and seeing triple
- A Divorce documents from Roman Egypt