A thrice-divorced woman does not return until she marries another and tastes his sweetness

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubaydullah or Sayyiduna al-Fadl bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that Sayyidah al-Ghumaysa' or Sayyidah al-Rumaysa' (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the court of the Messenger with a complaint about her husband and said that her husband did not come near her. At this her husband said: O Messenger of Allah, she is lying; I do have marital relations with her, but in fact she wants (to end her marriage and) go back to her first husband. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That woman cannot become lawful (for her first husband) until she tastes the honey of her present husband."
Through this hadith Imam Abu Ya'la (may Allah have mercy on him) has made clear the legal ruling that a divorced woman cannot return to her first husband until, after marrying a second husband, she has actually experienced conjugal pleasure with him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (concerning a woman who has received three divorces): "That woman will not be lawful for him (her first husband) until she tastes the honey (of her second husband) (that is, until she establishes marital relations with him)."
According to the commentators of hadith, what is meant by this metaphor is the pleasure of intercourse and conjugal relations, which is a necessary legal condition, after a second marriage, for a woman divorced three times to return to her first husband.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "'Usaylah (tasting the sweetness of honey) means intercourse (conjugal relations)."
According to the commentators of hadith, the word 'usaylah is used here as a metaphor, meaning the pleasure that comes from the relationship between husband and wife. This explains the legal ruling that after three divorces a woman cannot become lawful for her first husband until, after marrying a second husband, she has established actual marital relations with him, as is stated in the Noble Qur'an: "until she marries a husband other than him" (Surah al-Baqarah: 230).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By 'usaylah (a little sweetness of honey) (the word mentioned in the hadith), what he (peace and blessings be upon him) meant is marriage (and the conjugal pleasure that results from it)."
According to the commentators of hadith, the purpose of this prophetic explanation is to state the legal ruling that after three divorces a divorced woman does not become lawful for her first husband until, after marrying a second husband, she has established actual marital relations with him, as Allah Almighty says in the Noble Qur'an: "until she marries a husband other than him" (Surah al-Baqarah: 230).