Surah At-Talaaq (65) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ {وَ الّٰٓـِٔيْ يَىِٕسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيْضِ مِنْ نِّسَآىِٕكُمْ … : ’’ الّٰٓـِٔيْ ‘‘ ’’اَللَّاتِيْ‘‘} is the plural of {’’اَلَّتِيْ‘‘}, meaning those women. {’’ ارْتَبْتُمْ ‘‘ ’’رَيْبٌ‘‘} (doubt) is from the verb form ifti‘āl, past tense, active, plural masculine, second person. Originally it was {’’اِرْتَيَبْتُمْ‘‘}. That is, those women who have despaired of menstruation and those women who have never menstruated—if they are divorced after consummation, their waiting period (‘iddah) is three lunar months, whereas if they are divorced before consummation, there is no waiting period for them. See Surah Al-Ahzab (49).

➋ {’’ اِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ ‘‘} (if you doubt) can have three meanings. First, if you are in doubt that the waiting period is counted by menstruation, and these women’s menstruation has stopped or never occurred, then what should be done about their waiting period? We inform you that their waiting period is three lunar months. Ibn Kathir said this is narrated from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, and Ibn Jarir preferred this meaning, and in terms of meaning, this is the most apparent. Ibn Jarir mentioned as evidence the narration of Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: “O Messenger of Allah! The waiting period of several types of women is not mentioned in the Qur’an, i.e., young girls, elderly women, and pregnant women.” So Allah revealed this verse: « وَ الّٰٓـِٔيْ يَىِٕسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيْضِ مِنْ نِّسَآىِٕكُمْ » “And those women among your women who have despaired of menstruation.” Ibn Kathir also mentioned a detailed narration of the same meaning with the chain of Ibn Abi Hatim, but the researcher of Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Hikmat ibn Bashir, said that in both chains is the narrator ‘Amr ibn Salim (Abu ‘Uthman Al-Ansari), who is said to be “acceptable” in Taqrib, meaning his narration is accepted if corroborated, otherwise weak, and here it is not corroborated, so its chain is weak. According to this tafsir, the words of {’’ اِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ ‘‘} do not seem to have any particular benefit.

The second meaning is that if such women who have despaired of menstruation begin to have bleeding due to illness (istihada), and you cannot decide whether it is menstruation or istihada, then their waiting period is three lunar months. This is the view of Mujahid and Zuhri. [ طبري : 69/23، ح : ۳۴۶۱۷، ۳۴۶۱۸، بسند صحیح ] This shows that if in a case of doubt their waiting period is three months, then if they do not have any kind of bleeding at all and there is no doubt about their despair of menstruation, then their waiting period is even more so three months. The third meaning is that although the general rule is that women whose menstruation has stopped or never started do not become pregnant, rarely such women do become pregnant, and here the issue is about women who are divorced after consummation, in which case the possibility of pregnancy remains. So if you suspect from signs that they might be pregnant, then their waiting period is three months; in this period, it will become clear whether they are pregnant or not. If they are not pregnant, the waiting period is three months, and if pregnancy becomes apparent, then their waiting period is until delivery, as stated: « وَ اُولَاتُ الْاَحْمَالِ اَجَلُهُنَّ اَنْ يَّضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ» that the waiting period of pregnant women is until delivery. This shows that if an elderly woman who has despaired of menstruation or a woman who has never menstruated, and there is no suspicion of pregnancy regarding them, then their waiting period is even more so three months.

➌ { وَ الّٰٓـِٔيْ يَىِٕسْنَ :} means those women who have never menstruated, their waiting period is also three months. This includes young girls who have not yet menstruated and older women who, for some reason, have never started menstruating. From this verse, it is understood that marriage with a young girl is permissible, and her husband may have intercourse with her. To prohibit marriage of young girls or to set a specific age, such as eighteen years, for the marriage of girls who have reached puberty, at the behest of disbelievers, is a clear opposition to the commands of Allah.

➍ { وَ اُولَاتُ الْاَحْمَالِ اَجَلُهُنَّ اَنْ يَّضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ : ’’ اُولَاتُ ‘‘ ’’ذَاتٌ‘‘} is the plural, just as {’’أُوْلُوْ‘‘ ’’ذُوْ‘‘} is the plural. {’’ اُولَاتُ الْاَحْمَالِ ‘‘} means pregnant women. The words of the verse are general, so the waiting period of a pregnant woman is until delivery, whether her husband divorced her or her husband died. It is also established from authentic hadiths that if a pregnant woman’s husband dies, her waiting period ends with the birth of the child, whether the child is born immediately after the husband’s death or several months later. Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that Sabi‘ah Aslamiyyah gave birth forty days after her husband was killed, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted her to marry. [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب : «و أولات الأحمال أجلہن…» : ۴۹۰۹ ] As for women who are not pregnant and their husbands die, their waiting period is four months and ten days. See Surah Al-Baqarah (234).

➎ { وَ مَنْ يَّتَّقِ اللّٰهَ يَجْعَلْ لَّهٗ مِنْ اَمْرِهٖ يُسْرًا :} In this surah, the command to fear Allah has been emphasized repeatedly. The reason is that the issues between husband and wife are such that unless a person constantly fears Allah, he may go astray in matters concerning his wife. Therefore, in the Book and Sunnah, there is repeated emphasis on good treatment of wives. (Kilani) In the context of this verse, making things easy in his affairs means that whoever fears Allah, firstly, due to waiting for the right time for divorce, the need for divorce may not even arise, and if he divorces according to the prescribed method, he will have the right to take her back during the waiting period, and if the waiting period ends, the opportunity for remarriage will remain.

4. 1. This is the waiting period for those whose menstruation has ceased due to old age, or for those who have not yet begun menstruating. It should be noted that, rarely, it happens that a woman reaches the age of puberty and does not menstruate at all.

4. 2. If the divorced woman is pregnant, her waiting period is until childbirth, even if she gives birth the very next day. This is the waiting period for every pregnant woman, whether she is divorced or her husband has passed away. This is also supported by hadith (Sahih Bukhari). And for those whose husbands have died, their waiting period is four months and ten days.

4. And those of your women who have despaired of menstruation—if you are in doubt, their waiting period is three months, and also for those who have not yet begun menstruating [15]. And for pregnant women, their waiting period [16] is until they deliver their burden. And whoever fears Allah [17], He will make his matters easy for him.

[15]
Marriage of Minors:

That is, those women who have become so old that they have stopped menstruating, or those minor girls who have not yet started menstruating. And there are also some women who, due to their age, menstruate after a long delay, and it is also possible that a woman may never menstruate in her lifetime. The waiting period (‘iddah) for all such women is three months, and this will start from the day she is divorced, and the three months will be lunar, not solar. Incidentally, from this verse it is understood that the marriage of minor girls is also permissible, and having intercourse with them is also permissible. Similarly, it is permissible to have intercourse with those older women who have not menstruated or have become so old that their menstruation has stopped. In this verse, the words ﴿ارْتَبْتُمْ﴾ are very meaningful. One meaning is that if you are in doubt about the waiting period of such women and you want to know their waiting period, then the answer is that their waiting period is three months. The second meaning is that although generally a woman who does not menstruate does not bear children, however, for such women to bear children is not impossible by Allah’s power. And such examples are also found in this world, although they are rare. Nevertheless, it is neither impossible nor non-existent. That is why the waiting period for such women has been prescribed.

[16] Whether a woman is divorced or widowed, that is, her husband has died, her waiting period will be until childbirth. As has already been explained in footnote number 1 of the first verse of this surah.

[17] In this surah, the command to fear Allah repeatedly has been emphasized. The reason is that the issues of marital life are such that unless a person fears Allah at all times, he may go astray in matters concerning his wife. That is why, in the Book and Sunnah, there is repeated emphasis on treating wives well.