Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As salaamu alaikum

Some schools of thought say uttering talaaq 3 times in one go nullifies the marraige .While others say it is counted as one talaaq & 2 more are required to desolve marraige'.They say it should be like its in Quran. Does one have to repeat nikah if they make up in 3 months after 1 talaaq or just have cordial relation without any formality.

Please explain,what rujooh means.

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Answer:

Three Divorces Talaq

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 65 Surah Talaq verses 1-2:

1 O Prophet! When ye do divorce women divorce them at their prescribed periods and count (accurately) their prescribed periods: and fear Allah your Lord: and turn them not out of their houses nor shall they (themselves) leave except in case they are guilty of some open lewdness. Those are limits set by Allah: and any who transgresses the limits of Allah does verily wrong his (own) soul: thou knowest not if perchance Allah will bring about thereafter some new situation.

2 Thus when they fulfil their term appointed either take them back on equitable terms or part with them on equitable terms; and take for witness two persons from among you endued with justice and establish the evidence (as) before Allah. Such is the admonition given to him who believes in Allah and the Last Day. And for those who fear Allah He (ever) prepares a way out.

The correct way to pronounce divorce in Islam, as taught in the Holy Quran, is that a person gives 1-divorce to his wife when she is not in a state of menstrual impurity, and they ‘stay-away’ from her for three menses periods. If before the three menses periods are over, the husband and the wife decide to live together and have sexual intercourse, then the divorce is deemed cancelled and they remain as a married couple.

But if the three menses period duration passes, and the couple do not come together, then the husband and wife will be considered divorced and the woman may marry any man of her choice thereafter. If they want to re-marry after this period, a brand new ‘nikaah’ needs to be done for them to be husband and wife again; but the husband has used up one of his three divorce rights, and has only two more divorce rights left in this marriage. The divorce and re-marriage can only be done twice; and the third time the husband pronounces the divorce, then it will be considered a final divorce and the couple cannot remarry; unless the woman marries someone else and that husband divorces her or dies.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 229:

229 A divorce is only permissible twice: after that the parties should either hold together on equitable terms or separate with kindness.

Thus, in Islam, one need not use all the three divorce pronunciations to divorce his wife. Only one divorce pronunciation is enough to obtain divorce, and after the woman passes the ‘iddah’ or waiting period of three menses periods, she is free to marry anyone she wills, and it also leaves the option for the couple if they wish to re-marry again.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 29.1

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man said to Hadrat Abdullah ibn Abbas (r.a.) , "I have divorced my wife by saying I divorce you a hundred times. What do you think my situation is?" Ibn Abbas (r.a.) said to him, "She was divorced from you by three pronouncements, and by the (balance) ninety-seven, you have mocked the Aayah of Allah."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2189 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Prophet (saws) said: “There are three things which, whether undertaken seriously or in jest, are treated as serious: Marriage, divorce and taking back a wife (after a divorce which is not final)”

The absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion that if one pronounces three divorces to one’s wife at one time, they will count as three and an irrevocable divorce will be established. That was the ruling of even the noble companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) of the stature of Hadrat Abdullah ibn Abbas (r.a.) and of Hadrat Abu Hurayrah (r.a.), etc.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 29.37

Yahya related from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Thawban that Muhammad ibn Iyas ibn al-Bukayr said, "A man divorced his wife three times before he had consummated the marriage, and then it seemed good to him to marry her. Therefore, he wanted an opinion, and I went with him to ask Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra on his behalf about it, and they said, 'We do not think that he should marry her until she has married another husband.'

Your Question: Does one have to repeat nikah if they make up in 3 months after 1 talaaq or just have cordial relation without any formality. Please explain,what rujooh means.

The Arabic term ‘Rujooh’ literally means to ‘turn or take back’, and when this term is used in Islamic Law or Jurisprudence of marriage, it means the taking back of a wife by her husband after he has pronounced the revocable first or second divorce. There is no ‘rujooh’ after the husband has pronounced the irrevocable third divorce.

If a husband pronounces the revocable first or second divorce, and if during the prescribed ‘iddah’ or waiting period of divorce (3 menstruations), the husband wishes to cancel the divorce and take back his wife, there is absolutely no need to perform the ‘nikaah’ again. If during that ‘iddah’ period, the husband simply declares that he takes his wife back or conjugates with her, the divorce will be revoked and the couple may live as a husband and a wife again; but the husband would have utilized one of his three divorce rights in that marriage.

If a husband pronounces the first or second divorce, and if after the prescribed ‘iddah’ or waiting period has elapsed; the couple will be considered divorced. If after the prescribed ‘iddah’ period the couple wish to reconcile, it is obligatory for them to perform a brand new ‘nikaah’ again.

But if the husband has pronounced the irrevocable third divorce, there can be no ‘rujooh’ unless and until his ex-wife were to marry another man, and the new husband dies or of his own will divorces her. Only after the woman has honored the prescribed ‘iddah’ (of death or divorce as may be the case), the first husband can send a proposal to marry her, if he wishes to do so.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan