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Explained ḥadīths

Revocable and Irrevocable Divorce

3 ḥadīths

Do you want to go back to Rifā‘ah? Not until you taste his sweetness and he tastes your sweetness (have sexual intercourse)

عن عائشة- رضي الله عنها- مرفوعاً: «جاءت امرأة رفاعة القرظي إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت: كنت عند رفاعة القرظي فطلقني فَبَتَّ طلاقي، فتزوجت بعده عبد الرحمن بن الزَّبير، وإنما معه مثل هُدْبَةِ الثَّوْبِ، فتبسم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال: أتريدين أن ترجعي إلى رفاعة؟ لا، حتى تَذُوقي عُسَيْلَتَهُ، ويذوق عُسَيْلَتَكِ، قالت: وأبو بكر عنده، وخالد بن سعيد بالباب ينتظر أن يؤذن له، فنادى: يا أبا بكر، ألا تسمع إلى هذه: ما تَجْهَرُ به عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ».
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The wife of Rifā‘ah al-Qurazhi came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I was with Rifā‘ah al-Qurazhi, and he divorced me and it was an irrevocable divorce. Then I married ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Az-Zubayr, and he only has the like of a garment's fringe." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) smiled and said: "Do you want to go back to Rifā‘ah? Not until you taste his sweetness and he tastes your sweetness (have sexual intercourse)." She (‘Ā'ishah) said: "Abu Bakr was with him, and Khālid ibn Sa‘īd was at the door waiting to be allowed in. Khālid called out: 'O Abu Bakr, do you not hear what this [woman] is saying? What is she saying openly in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)!'"
Narrated by Bukhari & MuslimGradeAuthentic hadith
Explanation

The wife of Rifā‘ah al-Qurazhi came to complain about her situation to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). She told him that she was married to Rifā‘ah, who gave her a third irrevocable divorce. Then she married ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Az-Zubayr who, nevertheless, could not have sexual intercourse with her, because of his inability to have a penile erection. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) smiled at her explicit words, which women would usually feel too shy to say. He understood that she wanted his judgment to go back to her ex-husband, Rifā‘ah. The lady believed that she was now lawful for Rifā‘ah on the grounds of her marriage contract with ‘Abdur-Rahmān. However, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) refused to grant her that judgment. To become lawful for her ex-husband, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: She must have sexual intercourse with her new husband. Abu Bakr was with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and Khālid ibn Sa‘īd was standing at the door, waiting to be allowed in. So Khālid called out to Abu Bakr in resentment at what the lady said to the Prophet. Indeed, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had great reverence and esteem for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). We ask Allah to grant us respect for and compliance with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

Reference

- صحيح البخاري –الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري-مطبعة السعادة-الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام-عبد الله البسام-تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426ه. - خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام- فيصل بن عبد العزيز بن فيصل ابن حمد المبارك الحريملي النجدي - الطبعة: الثانية، 1412 هـ - 1992 م. - الإفهام في شرح عمدة الأحكام - عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز - حققه واعتنى به وخرج أحاديثه: د. سعيد بن علي بن وهف القحطاني- توزيع مؤسسة الجريسي.

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Her prescribed waiting period after divorce is over. Propose to her anew

عن الزُّبير بن العوام رضي الله عنه أنَّه كانت عنده أمُّ كُلثوم بنتُ عقبة، فقالت له وهي حاملٌ: طَيِّب نفسي بتطليقة، فطلَّقها تطليقةً، ثم خرجَ إلى الصلاة، فرجع وقد وضعت، فقال: ما لها؟ خَدَعتني، خَدَعها اللهُ، ثم أتى النبيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فقال: «سَبَقَ الكتابُ أَجَلَه، اخطِبها إلى نفسِها».
Az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he was married to Umm Kulthūm bint ‘Uqbah when she said to him, while being pregnant: "Make me happy by proclaiming divorce one time.” So he divorced her once, then went out to the prayer. He returned after she had given birth to a child, then he said: “What is the matter with her? She deceived me! May Allah deceive her!” Then he came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who then said: “Her prescribed waiting period after divorce is over. Propose to her anew.”
Narrated by Ibn MajahGradeAuthentic hadith
Explanation

Az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām was married to Umm Kulthūm bint ‘Uqbah, who asked him while she was pregnant to bring her some happiness by making one proclamation of divorce. Apparently she did not love him and wanted to part from him irrevocably. So, she asked him to divorce her with one proclamation when she realized that her delivery is immanent, knowing that the prescribed waiting period after divorce for the pregnant woman ends by giving birth to her baby. So, he divorced her once, then went out to the prayer. He returned after she had delivered her baby. Whereupon he said: “What is the matter with her? She deceived me! May Allah deceive her!” Deception is one of the attributes of Divine Acts; however, Allah, the Almighty, is not described by such an attribute independently in the absolute sense. Rather, He could be described by this attribute only in a reciprocal context, such as saying "Allah deceives whoever attempts to deceive Him, as He does with the hypocrites, those who devise evil plots for the believers, and the like. It is not permissible to interpret this attribute by saying Az-Zubayr wanted to say that Allah would penalize her for her deception. Rather, this attribute must be affirmed exactly as the other Attributes of Allah, the Almighty, without distorting or denying the meaning and without likening it or descriibng how it is. Then, Az-Zubayr came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of what had happened between him and his wife. He told him that her prescribed waiting period after divorce was over earlier than he expected, and that divorce had been already granted. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to propose marriage to her anew, because he no longer had any authority over her after the passage of her prescribed waiting period.

Reference

سنن ابن ماجه، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر: دار إحياء الكتب العربية - فيصل عيسى البابي الحلبي. حاشية السندي على سنن ابن ماجه، لمحمد بن عبد الهادي التتوي نور الدين السندي، الناشر: دار الجيل – بيروت. إنجاح الحاجة شرح سنن ابن ماجه، لمحمد عبد الغني المجددي الحنفي، الناشر: قديمي كتب خانة – كراتشي. إرواء الغليل في تخريج أحاديث منار السبيل، للألباني، نشر: المكتب الإسلامي – بيروت، الطبعة: الثانية 1405هـ - 1985م. معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة، للدكتور أحمد مختار عبد الحميد عمر بمساعدة فريق عمل، الناشر: عالم الكتب، الطبعة: الأولى، 1429 هـ - 2008 م. صفات الله عز وجل الواردة في الكتاب والسنة: علوي بن عبد القادر السَّقَّاف دار الهجرة الطبعة: الثالثة، 1426 هـ - 2006 م.

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‘Abd Yazīd — the father of Rukānah and his siblings — divorced Umm Rukānah and married a woman from Muzaynah. So the new wife came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: He does not satisfy me except like this hair does

عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما : طلق عبد يزيد -أبو رُكَانَةَ وإخوته- أم رُكَانَةَ، ونكح امرأة من مُزَيْنَة، فجاءت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فقالت: ما يُغْنِي عني إلا كما تُغْنِي هذه الشعرة، لشعرة أخذتها من رأسها، ففرق بيني وبينه، فأخذت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حَمِيَّة، فدعا بركانة وإخوته، ثم قال لجلسائه: «أترون فلانا يُشْبِهُ منه كذا وكذا؟ من عبد يزيد، وفلانا يشبه منه كذا وكذا؟» قالوا: نعم، قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لعبد يزيد: «طَلِّقْهَا» ففعل، ثم قال: «راجع امرأتك أم ركانة وإخوته؟» قال: إني طلقتها ثلاثا يا رسول الله، قال: «قد علمت راجِعْها» وتلا: {يا أيها النبي إذا طلقتم النساء فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ} [الطلاق: 1]
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Abd Yazīd — the father of Rukānah and his siblings — divorced Umm Rukānah and married a woman from Muzaynah. So the new wife came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "He does not satisfy me except like this hair does — referring to a hair that she took from her head — so separate between me and him." So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got angry and called Rukānah and his siblings. Then he said to those who were sitting with them: "Do you see that so-and-so resembles him in such-and-such?" meaning ‘Abd Yazīd, "and so-and-so resembles him in such-and-such?" They said: 'Yes.' Therefore, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to ‘Abd Yazīd: "Divorce her." So he did. Then he said: "Restore your wife, the mother of Rukānah and his siblings." He said: "I have divorced her thrice, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "I know; restore her." And he recited: {O Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period.} [Sūrat At-Talāq: 1]
Narrated by Abu DaoudGradeGood hadith
Explanation

‘Abd Yazīd, the father of Rukānah and his siblings, divorced the mother of Rukānah and married a woman from Muzaynah. This woman came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said that Abu Rukānah was impotent, so he could not have sexual intercourse with her, and asked for separation. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) became angry on that account and called Rukānah and his siblings and said to those who were sitting with him whether they recognized similarity in features between Rukānah and his siblings and their father, concluding that they were the children of ‘Abd Yazīd, and thus ‘Abd Yazīd was not impotent, as his new wife from Muzaynah claimed. As people recognized a similarity, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked ‘Abd Yazīd to divorce the woman, and he did so. Then he asked him to restore his ex-wife, the mother of Rukānah and his siblings. ‘Abd Yazīd said that he had divorced her three times in one session. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that he knew that and remarked that three utterances of divorce in one session are considered one divorce. He recited: {O Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period} [Sūrat At-Talāq: 1]. So ‘Abd Yazīd restored his ex-wife. According to a narration of Ahmad: Abu Rukānah divorced his wife three times in one session and regretted what he did. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told him that they counted as one divorce only.

Reference

سنن أبي داود - سليمان بن الأشعث السِّجِسْتاني، تحقيق: محمد محيي الدين عبد الحميد: المكتبة العصرية، صيدا - بيروت. صحيح أبي داود الأم -محمد ناصر الدين، الألباني - مؤسسة غراس للنشر والتوزيع، الكويت الطبعة: الأولى، 1423 هـ - 2002 م. منحة العلام في شرح بلوغ المرام:تأليف عبد الله الفوزان-طبعة دار ابن الجوزي-الطبعة الأولى 1428. توضيح الأحكام شرح بلوغ المرام:تأليف عبد الله البسام- مكتبة الأسدي –مكة المكرمة –الطبعة: الخامِسَة، 1423 هـ - 2003 م. تسهيل الإلمام بفقه الأحاديث من بلوغ المرام:تأليف الشيخ صالح الفوزان- عناية عبد السلام السليمان - مؤسسة الرسالة الطبعة الأولى. فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام بشرح بلوغ المرام للشيخ محمد بن عثيمين- المكتبة الإسلامية القاهرة- تحقيق صبحي رمضان وأم إسراء بيومي- الطبعة الأولى 1427. سبل السلام، لمحمد بن إسماعيل الصنعاني، - دار الحديث. بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام، أحمد بن علي بن حجر العسقلاني - تحقيق وتخريج وتعليق: سمير بن أمين الزهيري-الناشر: دار الفلق – الرياض-الطبعة: السابعة، 1424 هـ.

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