Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If the second husband divorces the woman before consummation, does she become lawful again for her first husband?
Until the second husband consummates the marriage with her in a valid manner (khalwah ṣaḥīḥah), the woman does not become lawful for her first husband.
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated:
جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةُ رِفَاعَةَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَتْ: إِنَّ رِفَاعَةَ طَلَّقَنِي فَبَتَّ طَلَاقِي، وَإِنِّي نَكَحْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ، وَإِنَّهُ مَا مَعَهُ إِلَّا مِثْلُ الْهُدْبَةِ، فَقَالَ: " أَتُرِيدِينَ أَنْ تَرْجِعِي إِلَى رِفَاعَةَ؟ لَا، حَتَّى تَذُوقِي عُسَيْلَتَهُ وَيَذُوقَ عُسَيْلَتَكِ "
Translation:
The wife of Rifāʿah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “Rifāʿah gave me an irrevocable divorce, and I married ʿAbdur-Raḥmān bin Zubayr, but he is impotent and nothing occurs between us except like the edge of a garment.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and said: “Do you want to return to Rifāʿah? No, not until you taste his sweetness and he tastes yours.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2639
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1433
➤ The woman who has been irrevocably divorced (ṭalāq bā’in) by her first husband cannot return to him unless:
① She marries another man,
② The second marriage is consummated (khalwah ṣaḥīḥah or actual intercourse), and
③ The second husband then divorces her willingly.
If the second husband divorces her before consummation, she remains unlawful for her first husband.
❖ Question:
If the second husband divorces the woman before consummation, does she become lawful again for her first husband?
✿ Answer:
Until the second husband consummates the marriage with her in a valid manner (khalwah ṣaḥīḥah), the woman does not become lawful for her first husband.
✦ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated:
جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةُ رِفَاعَةَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَتْ: إِنَّ رِفَاعَةَ طَلَّقَنِي فَبَتَّ طَلَاقِي، وَإِنِّي نَكَحْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ، وَإِنَّهُ مَا مَعَهُ إِلَّا مِثْلُ الْهُدْبَةِ، فَقَالَ: " أَتُرِيدِينَ أَنْ تَرْجِعِي إِلَى رِفَاعَةَ؟ لَا، حَتَّى تَذُوقِي عُسَيْلَتَهُ وَيَذُوقَ عُسَيْلَتَكِ "
Translation:
The wife of Rifāʿah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “Rifāʿah gave me an irrevocable divorce, and I married ʿAbdur-Raḥmān bin Zubayr, but he is impotent and nothing occurs between us except like the edge of a garment.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and said: “Do you want to return to Rifāʿah? No, not until you taste his sweetness and he tastes yours.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2639 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1433
Summary:
➤ The woman who has been irrevocably divorced (ṭalāq bā’in) by her first husband cannot return to him unless:
① She marries another man,
② The second marriage is consummated (khalwah ṣaḥīḥah or actual intercourse), and
③ The second husband then divorces her willingly.
If the second husband divorces her before consummation, she remains unlawful for her first husband.
