Excerpt from: احکام و مسائل کتاب و سنت کی روشنی میں by Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani
If a man gives his wife a revocable divorce (ṭalāq rajʿī) and then marries his sister-in-law (wife's sister) the very next day, is such a marriage valid? Please explain with evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The Qur’ān explicitly prohibits a man from being married to two sisters at the same time:
﴿وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ﴾
"And (forbidden to you is) to combine two sisters (in marriage at the same time)."
[al-Nisā’: 23]
This prohibition applies whether the sisters are:
– biological (from both parents),
– paternal,
– maternal,
– or even through fosterage (raḍāʿah).
There is consensus (ijmāʿ) among the scholars of the Ummah on this ruling.
When a husband gives his wife a revocable divorce, during the waiting period (ʿiddah) she is still considered his wife. Hence:
✔ He still has the right to reconcile (rajʿah) without a new marriage contract.
✔ He is obligated to provide maintenance (nafaqah) and residence (suknā) for her.
This is the position of many leading scholars such as:
– Imām Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله
– Imām ʿAṭā’ bin Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله
– Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله
– Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal رحمه الله
– Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh رحمه الله
(See: Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, 4/393)
The basis of their opinion is the narration of Fāṭimah bint Qays رضي الله عنها:
Her husband divorced her with the final divorce (bā’in). The Prophet ﷺ said to her:
"لَا نَفَقَةَ لَكِ وَلَا سُكْنَى"
"You are not entitled to maintenance or residence."
This ḥadīth proves that in ṭalāq bā’in, the wife is no longer entitled to rights—unlike in ṭalāq rajʿī, where she remains a wife during ʿiddah.
Imām al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله states:
"وأجمع العلماء على أن الرجل إذا طلق زوجته طلاقا يملك رجعتها، أنه ليس له أن ينكح أختها أو أربعا سواها حتى تنقضي عدة المطلقة."
"There is consensus among the scholars that when a man gives his wife a divorce in which he still holds the right to return to her, it is not permissible for him to marry her sister or a fourth wife (if he already has three others), until her ʿiddah has ended."
[Mukhtaṣar Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 1/484]
Other references confirming the same ruling include:
– Tafsīr al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ by Abū Ḥayyān (3/298)
– Tafsīr al-Kabīr by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (10/37)
– Āyāt al-Aḥkām (1/296)
– Tafsīr al-Khāzin (1/360)
– Fatḥ al-Qadīr (1/448)
– Fatḥ al-Bayān (2/49)
– Tafsīr al-Raḥmān (1/273)
During ṭalāq rajʿī, the woman is still a wife until her ʿiddah ends.
Therefore, marrying her sister during this time is ḥarām and falls under the prohibition of combining two sisters in one’s marriage.
✔ A man cannot marry his wife’s sister after issuing a revocable divorce, until his divorced wife completes her ʿiddah.
✔ Doing so before ʿiddah ends would be a clear violation of the Qur'anic command: "And (forbidden) to combine two sisters..."
❖ Question:
If a man gives his wife a revocable divorce (ṭalāq rajʿī) and then marries his sister-in-law (wife's sister) the very next day, is such a marriage valid? Please explain with evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
❖ Answer:
The Qur’ān explicitly prohibits a man from being married to two sisters at the same time:
﴿وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ﴾
"And (forbidden to you is) to combine two sisters (in marriage at the same time)."
[al-Nisā’: 23]This prohibition applies whether the sisters are:
– biological (from both parents),
– paternal,
– maternal,
– or even through fosterage (raḍāʿah).
There is consensus (ijmāʿ) among the scholars of the Ummah on this ruling.❖ Status of the Wife After Ṭalāq Rajʿī:
When a husband gives his wife a revocable divorce, during the waiting period (ʿiddah) she is still considered his wife. Hence:
✔ He still has the right to reconcile (rajʿah) without a new marriage contract.
✔ He is obligated to provide maintenance (nafaqah) and residence (suknā) for her.
This is the position of many leading scholars such as:– Imām Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله
– Imām ʿAṭā’ bin Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله
– Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله
– Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal رحمه الله
– Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh رحمه الله
(See: Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, 4/393)
❖ Key Evidence:
The basis of their opinion is the narration of Fāṭimah bint Qays رضي الله عنها:
Her husband divorced her with the final divorce (bā’in). The Prophet ﷺ said to her:
"لَا نَفَقَةَ لَكِ وَلَا سُكْنَى"
"You are not entitled to maintenance or residence."
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ṭalāq, Bāb al-Muṭallaqah al-Bā’in Lā Nafaqah Lahā: 1480
Reference: Abū Dāwūd: 2288 | al-Tirmidhī: 1180 | Ibn Mājah: 2036 | al-Nasā’ī: 2081
This ḥadīth proves that in ṭalāq bā’in, the wife is no longer entitled to rights—unlike in ṭalāq rajʿī, where she remains a wife during ʿiddah.❖ Scholarly Consensus on This Matter:
Imām al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله states:
"وأجمع العلماء على أن الرجل إذا طلق زوجته طلاقا يملك رجعتها، أنه ليس له أن ينكح أختها أو أربعا سواها حتى تنقضي عدة المطلقة."
"There is consensus among the scholars that when a man gives his wife a divorce in which he still holds the right to return to her, it is not permissible for him to marry her sister or a fourth wife (if he already has three others), until her ʿiddah has ended."
[Mukhtaṣar Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 1/484]Other references confirming the same ruling include:
– Tafsīr al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ by Abū Ḥayyān (3/298)
– Tafsīr al-Kabīr by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (10/37)
– Āyāt al-Aḥkām (1/296)
– Tafsīr al-Khāzin (1/360)
– Fatḥ al-Qadīr (1/448)
– Fatḥ al-Bayān (2/49)
– Tafsīr al-Raḥmān (1/273)
❖ Final Ruling:
During ṭalāq rajʿī, the woman is still a wife until her ʿiddah ends. Therefore, marrying her sister during this time is ḥarām and falls under the prohibition of combining two sisters in one’s marriage. Conclusion:
✔ A man cannot marry his wife’s sister after issuing a revocable divorce, until his divorced wife completes her ʿiddah.
✔ Doing so before ʿiddah ends would be a clear violation of the Qur'anic command: "And (forbidden) to combine two sisters..."
