Evidence for Rajʿah (Reconciliation) in Ṭalāq Rajʿī
Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
Question:
What is the evidence for reconciliation (rajʿah) in ṭalāq rajʿī (revocable divorce)?
Answer:
When a man gives his wife a revocable divorce—whether it is the first or the second—he has the right to reconcile (rajʿah) during the ʿiddah.
Qur’anic Evidence:
﴿وَبُعُولَتُهُنَّ أَحَقُّ بِرَدِّهِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ إِنْ أَرَادُوا إِصْلَاحًا ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 228)
"And their husbands have more right to take them back in that [period] if they intend reconciliation."
﴿لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ يُحْدِثُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَمْرًا﴾
(Al-Ṭalāq: 1)
"Perhaps Allah will bring about after that a [different] matter."
The scholars have stated that this verse refers to reconciliation (rajʿah).
Hadith Evidence:
Sayyiduna Muʿtaqil ibn Yasār رضي الله عنه narrated:
He married his sister to his cousin. The cousin divorced her with a revocable divorce, and after her ʿiddah was over, he wished to remarry her. Muʿtaqil رضي الله عنه swore he would never let him. Then the verse was revealed:
﴿وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَنْ يَنْكِحْنَ أَزْوَاجَهُنَّ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 232)
"And when you divorce women and they reach their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands."
So Muʿtaqil رضي الله عنه expiated his oath and married his sister back to him.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5130, Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2087, Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2981)
Ijmaʿ (Consensus):
❀ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله (d. 319H) said:
أجمعوا أن الحر إذا طلق زوجته الحرة وكانت مدخولا بها، تطليقة أو تطليقتين، أنه أحق برجعتها حتى تنقضي العدة.
"The scholars are unanimous that if a free man divorces his free wife who has been consummated with, by one or two divorces, he has the right to reconcile with her until her ʿiddah is completed."
(Al-Awsaṭ: 9/579)
