❖ Husband’s Duration of Stay with a Virgin or Previously Married Wife
By: Imran Ayub Lahori
✿ Introduction
Islam has outlined guidelines for fairness and emotional consideration when a man marries more than once. Among these is the duration he must initially stay with a new wife—whether she is a virgin or previously married—before returning to his routine rotation of time between his wives.
✿ Hadith Evidence on Duration of Stay
➊ Narration of Ḥaḍrat Anas (RA):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مِنَ السُّنَّةِ إِذَا تَزَوَّجَ الرَّجُلُ الْبِكْرَ عَلَى الثَّيِّبِ
“It is Sunnah that when a man marries a virgin after having a previously married wife, he should stay with the new bride for seven days, and then begin the rotation. But if he marries a previously married woman, he should stay with her for three days before starting the rotation.”
[Bukhari: 5214; Muslim: 1461]
➋ Narration of Ḥaḍrat Umm Salamah (RA):
When the Prophet ﷺ married Umm Salamah (RA)—who was a previously married woman—he stayed with her for three days.
[Muslim: 1460; Muwatta: 2/529; Ahmad: 6/292; Darimi: 2/144; Abu Dawood: 2122; Ibn Majah: 1917; Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār: 3/28; Abu Yaʿlā: 12/429; Daraqutni: 3/484; Ḥilyah Abī Nuʿaym: 7/95; Bayhaqi: 7/300]
➌ Narration of Ḥaḍrat Anas (RA):
When the Prophet ﷺ married Ḥaḍrat Ṣafiyyah (RA), who was also previously married, he stayed with her for three days.
[Sahih: Sahih Abu Dawood: 1863; Abu Dawood: 2123; Ahmad: 3/99]
✿ Summary of Rulings
From the above narrations, it is clear that:
If the new bride is a virgin, the husband should stay with her for seven days. If the new bride is previously married (divorced or widowed), the husband should stay with her for three days.✿ Views of the Scholars
✔ Majority of scholars (Jumhūr), including Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله), uphold this distinction.
✔ Ḥanafīs, however, opine that both virgin and previously married women are to be given three days—arguing that giving a virgin seven days and a previously married woman only three days contradicts the principle of equality (ʿadl).
[Al-Umm: 5/110; Al-Mabsūṭ: 5/218; Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 5/207; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/56; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/307; Sharḥ Muslim by Nawawi: 5/302; Fatḥ al-Bārī: 10/394]
✿ Refutation of the Ḥanafī View
The Ḥanafī position goes against the explicit, authentic Hadiths cited above. The wisdom behind this differentiation is also supported by sound reasoning:
✔ A virgin bride is new and unfamiliar, so staying seven days helps in building comfort and emotional bonding.
✔ A previously married woman is typically more experienced and quickly acclimates to her environment, so three days suffice.
⚖ Conclusion:
The Sunnah-based and majority view is that seven days are to be given to a virgin bride, and three days to a previously married woman, before resuming the rotation between wives. This ruling combines emotional sensitivity with prophetic justice.
