Is a written divorce, without the husband uttering it or intending it, sufficient for the divorce to take effect? And what is the validity of the testimony of witnesses, one of whom has been convicted of forgery and the other does not know the Arabic language in which the divorce paper was written? And is this divorce, after the husband abandoned his wife and children, a third or second divorce, and is the waiting period (iddah) obligatory upon her?

Divorce does not require witnesses to be effective. Its written form is considered a metaphor (kinayah) and does not take effect unless intent is present. If the wife does something the husband swore to prevent, out of forgetfulness, and his oath was for prevention, then the husband does not break his oath. The divorced wife must observe the 'iddah (waiting period) if intercourse or seclusion occurred, and it begins from the date of the divorce. It is not permissible for a man to leave his wife in a state of suspension, and she has the right to refer her case to the Sharia court to remove the harm from her. The duration of the 'iddah is three menstrual cycles for women who menstruate, or delivery for a pregnant woman, or three months for women who do not menstruate.