Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 192
Question
If a woman takes khulʿ from her husband, what is her ʿiddah? Should she, like a normally divorced woman, complete three menstrual cycles or wait until childbirth before marrying another man? A detailed, evidence-based answer is requested.
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd:
1. Determination of ʿIddah During the Prophet’s ﷺ Era
Narration of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
- The wife of Thābit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه (most reports state she was Ḥabībah bint Sahl رضي الله عنها) took khulʿ during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
- The Prophet ﷺ ordered her to observe ʿiddah for one menstrual cycle.
Sources:
- Sunan al-Tirmidhī (Ḥadīth: 1185 – “ḥasan gharīb”)
- Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Ḥadīth: 2229)
- al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim (Vol. 2, p. 206, Ḥadīth: 2825 – authenticated by al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabī agreed in his Talkhīṣ)
Authenticity:
- This ḥadīth is ḥasan li-dhātih.
- The mursal report of ʿAbd al-Razzāq is not considered a defect; both the mursal and connected versions are authentic under the principle of ziyādat al-thiqah.
2. Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī’s Version
In Hishām ibn Yūsuf’s narration:
“The Prophet ﷺ set her ʿiddah as one and a half menstrual cycles.”
- This chain is also ḥasan li-dhātih.
- This indicates that khulʿ ʿiddah is approximately one month.
3. Case of Rabīʿ bint Muʿawwidh رضي الله عنها
- After she took khulʿ, she asked ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه about her ʿiddah.
- He replied:
“You have no ʿiddah, except if your husband had been intimate with you and you have just taken khulʿ, then you must wait one menstrual cycle.”
- He further said:
“I follow in this the decision of the Messenger ﷺ regarding Maryam al-Mughāliyyah.”
Sources:
- Sunan al-Nasāʾī (Vol. 6, pp. 186–187, Ḥadīth: 3528 – chain ḥasan, wording his)
- Sunan Ibn Mājah (Ḥadīth: 2058)
- Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-Bārī (Vol. 9, p. 399, Ḥadīth no. 5273 – “Its chain is good”)
4. Maryam al-Mughāliyyah
- She is the woman who took khulʿ from Thābit ibn Qays رضي الله عنه.
- The Prophet ﷺ instructed her to observe ʿiddah for one menstrual cycle.
- Some scholars consider her a different woman from Ḥabībah bint Sahl رضي الله عنها — Allāh knows best.
5. Ibn ʿUmar’s رجوع (Retraction)
- Initially, Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما gave the fatwā:
“A woman who takes khulʿ must observe ʿiddah for three menstrual cycles.”
- But when he heard the fatwā of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه, he retracted and said:
“He is the best and most knowledgeable among us.”
Source:
- Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (Vol. 5, p. 114, Ḥadīth: 18456 – authentic chain)
6. Statement of Imām Nāfiʿ رحمه الله
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said: “The ʿiddah of a woman after khulʿ is one menstrual cycle.”
Source:
- Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (Vol. 5, p. 114, Ḥadīth: 18455 – authentic chain)
7. Scholarly Disagreement and the Stronger View
- Ḥanafī scholars and some others say: The ʿiddah of a khulʿ case is three menstrual cycles or until childbirth.
- However, based on:
- Authentic ḥadīth,
- The ruling of the Rightly Guided Caliph ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه,
- The fatwās of the Companions,
The stronger opinion is: A woman who takes khulʿ observes ʿiddah for one menstrual cycle (approximately one month), after which she may marry another man.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
