Assalamu alaykum,
If a man divorces his wife, then is intimate with her before the iddat ends, is the marriage valid again simply due to the fact that he was intimate with her?
Or when he is intimate with her does he specifically have to have the intention that he is taking her back?
JazakAllahu khayr
The matter depends on the type of divorce that was issued.
Revocable divorce (talaq raj‘i)
If the divorce was uttered through explicit wording, i.e., “I divorce you”, “you are divorced,” then this is known as a revocable divorce (talaq raj‘i). The husband can revoke such a divorce through speech or action.
To revoke this divorce through speech, the husband would say to his wife, “I take you back,” “I revoke the divorce”, during the waiting period (iddat).[1] “I revoke the divorce” is an explicit statement, and thus an intention is not necessary for the revocation to take place.
To revoke this divorce through action, the husband would touch his wife with lust without a barrier that repels body heat or has intercourse with her during the waiting period.[2] The intention to revoke the divorce is not necessary. Thus, if the husband were to touch his wife with lust, without a barrier that repels body heat, the divorce would have been revoked even if the husband had not intended this.[3] However, this type of revocation is disliked. After the intercourse, it is preferred that the husband utters the revocation also.
These two options are unilateral during the waiting period. If the waiting period has elapsed, the couple will have to repeat their nikah to continue their marriage.
Irrevocable divorce (talaq ba‘in)
If the divorce was uttered through ambiguous terms with the intention of divorce, i.e., “Our marriage is over,” “Go home”, and so forth intending divorce, then this is known as an irrevocable divorce (talaq ba‘in). To revoke such a divorce, the couple must repeat their nikah during or after the waiting period.[4]
The difference between the two types of divorces is that in a revocable divorce, the husband can take his wife back unilaterally by stating, “I take you back”. In an irrevocable divorce, the couple need to repeat their nikah, and thus, this is multilateral.
Triple-divorce or the third divorce
If this was a triple-divorce or the third divorce, intimacy or repeating nikah within or outside the waiting period does not affect their marital status. To re-establish the marriage, the wife is to marry another man, have intercourse with him and then get divorced from this next husband. Only after this process will the marriage be valid.
[1] اللباب في شرح الكتاب (3/ 54) أن يقول: راجعتك) إذا كانت حاضرة، أو رددتك، أو أمسكتك (أو راجعت امرأتي) إذا كانت غائبة، ولا يحتاج في ذلك إلى نية؛ لأنه صريح (أو) بالفعل؛ مثل أن (يطأها، أو يقبلها، أو يلمسها بشهوة، أو ينظر إلى فرجها) الداخل (بشهوة) وكذا بكل ما يوجب حرمة المصاهرة؛ إلا أنه يكره ذلك، ويستحب أن يراجعها بعده بالقول.
[2] البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق ومنحة الخالق وتكملة الطوري (4/ 54-5) (قَوْلُهُ وَتَصِحُّ فِي الْعِدَّةِ إنْ لَمْ يُطَلَّقْ ثَلَاثًا، وَلَوْ لَمْ تَرْضَ بِرَاجَعْتُكِ أَوْ رَاجَعْت امْرَأَتِي، وَبِمَا يُوجِبُ حُرْمَةَ الْمُصَاهَرَةِ) […] أَمَّا رُكْنُهَا فَقَوْلٌ أَوْ فِعْلٌ فَالْأَوَّلُ صَرِيحٌ، وَكِنَايَةٌ أَمَّا الْأَوَّلُ فَرَاجَعْتُك وَرَاجَعْت امْرَأَتِي، وَجَمَعَ بَيْنَهُمَا لِيُفِيدَ مَا إذَا كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةً فَخَاطَبَهَا أَوْ غَائِبَةً، وَارْتَجَعْتُك وَرَجَعْتُك وَرَدَدْتُك، وَأَمْسَكْتُك وَمَسَكْتُك فَيَصِيرُ مُرَاجِعًا بِلَا نِيَّةٍ، وَمِنْهُ النِّكَاحُ وَالتَّزَوُّجُ […] وَأَمَّا الثَّانِي أَعْنِي الْفِعْلَ فَأَفَادَ أَنَّ كُلَّ فِعْلٍ أَوْجَبَ حُرْمَةَ الْمُصَاهَرَةِ فَإِنَّ الرَّجْعَةَ تَصِحُّ بِهِ، وَسَوَّى بَيْنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ فِي الصِّحَّةِ لِلِاحْتِرَازِ عَنْ الْكَرَاهَةِ فَإِنَّهَا مَكْرُوهَةٌ بِالْفِعْلِ كَمَا فِي الْجَوْهَرَةِ فَدَخَلَ الْوَطْءُ وَالتَّقْبِيلُ بِشَهْوَةٍ عَلَى أَيِّ مَوْضِعٍ كَانَ فَمًا أَوْ خَدًّا أَوْ ذَقَنًا أَوْ جَبْهَةً أَوْ رَأْسًا أَوْ الْمَسُّ بِلَا حَائِلٍ أَوْ بِحَائِلٍ يَجِدُ الْحَرَارَةَ مَعَهُ بِشَهْوَةٍ، وَالنَّظَرُ إلَى دَاخِلِ الْفَرْجِ بِشَهْوَةٍ فَإِنْ كَانَتْ مُتَّكِئَةً وَالْوَطْءُ فِي الدُّبُرِ عَلَى الْمُفْتَى بِهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَخْلُو عَنْ مَسٍّ بِشَهْوَةٍ، وَلَا فَرْقَ بَيْنَ كَوْنِ التَّقْبِيلِ، وَالْمَسِّ، وَالنَّظَرِ بِشَهْوَةٍ مِنْهُ أَوْ مِنْهَا بِشَرْطِ أَنْ يُصَدِّقَهَا سَوَاءٌ كَانَ بِتَمْكِينِهِ أَوْ فَعَلَتْهُ اخْتِلَاسًا أَوْ كَانَ نَائِمًا أَوْ مُكْرَهًا أَوْ مَعْتُوهًا
[3] البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق ومنحة الخالق وتكملة الطوري» (4/ 55): وَفِي الْقُنْيَةِ أَجَازَ مُرَاجَعَةَ الْفُضُولِيِّ صَحَّ، وَيَصِيرُ مُرَاجِعًا بِوُقُوعِ بَصَرِهِ عَلَى فَرْجِهَا بِشَهْوَةٍ مِنْ غَيْرِ قَصْدِ الْمُرَاجَعَةِ انْتَهَى […]وَالرِّضَا لَيْسَ بِشَرْطٍ، وَلِهَذَا لَوْ أُكْرِهَ عَلَى الرَّجْعَةِ بِالْفِعْلِ يَصِحُّ انْتَهَى»
[4] مختصر القدوري (ص: 159) وإذا كان الطلاق بائنا دون الثلاث فله أن يتزوجها في عدتها وبعد انقضاء عدتها
اللباب في شرح الكتاب (3/ 57) (وإذا كان الطلاق بائناً دون الثلاث فله أن يتزوجها في عدتها وبعد انقضاء عدتها) لأن حل المحلية باقٍ، لأن زواله معلق بالطلقة الثالثة فينعدم قبله، ومنع الغير في العدة لاشتباه النسب، ولا اشتباه في إباحته له
Answered by:
Maulana Ikramul Hoque Miah
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel