Author: عمران ایوب لاہوری
Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نَكَحْتُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ فَمَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا
“O you who believe! When you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, then there is no ʿiddah for you to count against them.”
(Al-Aḥzāb: 49)
This verse clearly states that a woman divorced before consummation has no waiting period (ʿiddah).
Similarly, in the case of a slave woman, there is no authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth proving a different ruling from that of a free woman.
The narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) that says:
طلاق الأمة تطليقتان و عدتها حيضتان
“The divorce of a slave woman is two divorces and her ʿiddah is two menstrual cycles”
is weak.
[Weak: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2066, Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 451, Ibn Mājah 2079, Dāraqutnī 4/38, Bayhaqī 7/369. Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Būṣayrī declared it weak (Miṣbāḥ al-Zujāja 2/139). In its chain is ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī, who is weak – al-Majrūḥīn 2/171, al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 6/382, al-Kāshif 2/235, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 3/79, Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb 2/24.]
Since no sound ḥadīth differentiates between a free woman and a slave woman in this matter, both are included in the general wording of the Qurʾān and Sunnah.
However, there is an authentic narration from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) that:
وتعتد الأمة حيضتين
“A slave woman observes ʿiddah for two menstrual cycles.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2067, Dāraqutnī 419, Musnad al-Shāfiʿī 1607, Bayhaqī 7/425]
Conclusion:
If a woman is divorced before consummation, she has no waiting period, whether she is free or a slave. The stronger evidence supports treating both the same in this ruling.
Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نَكَحْتُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ فَمَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا
“O you who believe! When you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, then there is no ʿiddah for you to count against them.”
(Al-Aḥzāb: 49)
This verse clearly states that a woman divorced before consummation has no waiting period (ʿiddah).
Similarly, in the case of a slave woman, there is no authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth proving a different ruling from that of a free woman.
The narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) that says:
طلاق الأمة تطليقتان و عدتها حيضتان
“The divorce of a slave woman is two divorces and her ʿiddah is two menstrual cycles”
is weak.
[Weak: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2066, Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 451, Ibn Mājah 2079, Dāraqutnī 4/38, Bayhaqī 7/369. Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Būṣayrī declared it weak (Miṣbāḥ al-Zujāja 2/139). In its chain is ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī, who is weak – al-Majrūḥīn 2/171, al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl 6/382, al-Kāshif 2/235, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 3/79, Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb 2/24.]
Since no sound ḥadīth differentiates between a free woman and a slave woman in this matter, both are included in the general wording of the Qurʾān and Sunnah.
- Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله) holds this view. (al-Muḥallā 10/230)
- Amīr al-Ṣanʿānī (رحمه الله) prefers it. (Subul al-Salām 3/1514)
- Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (رحمه الله) affirms it. (al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/147)
However, there is an authentic narration from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) that:
وتعتد الأمة حيضتين
“A slave woman observes ʿiddah for two menstrual cycles.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2067, Dāraqutnī 419, Musnad al-Shāfiʿī 1607, Bayhaqī 7/425]
Conclusion:
If a woman is divorced before consummation, she has no waiting period, whether she is free or a slave. The stronger evidence supports treating both the same in this ruling.
