Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 192
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.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd:
Narration of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
Sources:
Authenticity:
In Hishām ibn Yūsuf’s narration:
“The Prophet ﷺ set her ʿiddah as one and a half menstrual cycles.”
“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.”
“I follow in this the decision of the Messenger ﷺ regarding Maryam al-Mughāliyyah.”
Sources:
“A woman who takes khulʿ must observe ʿiddah for three menstrual cycles.”
“He is the best and most knowledgeable among us.”
Source:
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said: “The ʿiddah of a woman after khulʿ is one menstrual cycle.”
Source:
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.
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.
