Is a husband's request for his wife to return to him during her waiting period considered a reconciliation, and does she have the right to refuse? What is the ruling on him engaging in foreplay with her without penetration but with ejaculation? Is a husband's acknowledgment before the court of his request for divorce after the expiration of the waiting period considered a valid شرعي divorce? What are the implications of her subsequent 'urfi marriage if she is still under his marital bond?

Divorce takes effect either by the husband's pronouncement or by a ruling from a Muslim judge. Merely filing for divorce does not make it effective. If you pronounced the divorce, it is effective. Some scholars believe that engaging intimately with one's wife during her 'iddah (waiting period) without the intention of reconciliation is considered a reconciliation. A ruling of divorce by a secular judge is not considered a divorce [in Islamic law]. If you have not divorced your wife, or if you divorced her and then engaged intimately with her, she is still under your marital bond and it is not permissible for her to marry another man. The matter should be presented to scholars for a fatwa based on the details of what occurred.