❖ ʾĪlāʾ: Option of Return or Divorce After Completion of the Duration
Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❀ Ruling
If the husband has not fixed a specific period or has sworn for more than four months, then after the completion of four months he will be given the choice either to reconcile (rujūʿ) or to divorce.
➊ Qur’anic Evidence
لِّلَّذِينَ يُؤْلُونَ مِن نِّسَائِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ ۖ فَإِن فَاءُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ 226 وَإِنْ عَزَمُوا الطَّلَاقَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ [البقرة: 226 – 227]
"For those who take an oath not to approach their wives, a waiting period of four months is prescribed. Then if they return (i.e., if no time was specified, they break the oath and resume marital relations), Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And if they resolve upon divorce, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing."
This indicates that divorce does not take place automatically; rather, the husband must either reconcile or pronounce divorce.
➋ Evidence from Ḥadīth and Athār
- Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
When four months pass, the man who made ʾĪlāʾ is brought before the ruler and not released until he divorces.
"Until he gives divorce, divorce will not occur by itself."
[Bukhārī: 5291, Kitāb al-Ṭalāq] - Imām Bukhārī رحمه الله also reports the same from ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Abū al-Dardāʾ, ʿĀʾishah and twelve other Companions رضي الله عنهم.
- Sulaymān ibn Yasār رضي الله عنه said:
I saw more than ten Companions of the Prophet ﷺ who would stop the one who made ʾĪlāʾ and ask him (whether he would return or divorce).
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2086, Tartīb al-Musnad li-l-Shāfiʿī 2/42, Dāraquṭnī 4/61] - Ibn Abī Mulaykah رحمه الله said:
I heard ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها say:
يوقف المولي
"The one who made ʾĪlāʾ will be made to stand (i.e., questioned whether he will return or divorce)."
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 7/171] - Thābit ibn ʿUbayd, the freed slave of Zayd ibn Thābit رضي الله عنه, narrated from ten Companions of the Prophet ﷺ that:
الإيلاء لا يكون طلاقا حتى يوقف
"ʾĪlāʾ is not counted as divorce until the man is questioned (whether he will return or divorce)."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl under 2085, 7/172, Bayhaqī 7/376]
❀ Summary of Opinions
- Jumhūr (Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad رحمهم الله):
Divorce does not happen automatically after four months; the husband is required to either reconcile or pronounce divorce. - Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله, Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
Divorce occurs automatically after the four months elapse.
References:
- Nayl al-Awṭār 4/354
- al-Umm 5/256
- al-Kāfī by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr p. 279
- al-Mughnī 11/30
- Tafsīr al-Lubāb fī ʿUlūm al-Kitāb 4/100
❀ Preferred View
Based on the Qur’anic verse and the numerous authentic reports, the opinion of the majority (jumhūr) is the stronger one: ʾĪlāʾ does not by itself result in divorce. Instead, the husband must be made to choose between reconciliation or divorce.
- Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله also gave preference to this opinion and mentioned ten reasons for its superiority.
[Zād al-Maʿād 4/129–131] - Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله likewise held this view.
[al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/281]
والله أعلم
