Does the wife have to observe the 'idda (waiting period) if she requests a khul' (divorce at the wife's instance with compensation) from her husband, knowing that he has not consummated the marriage with her? And does verse "Surah [2:236], 'And there is no blame upon you if you divorce women before consummating the marriage or specifying for them an obligatory dowry…'" apply to her? And what should she do if she does not observe the 'idda?

If the wife was divorced by her husband through Khul' before consummation and lawful privacy (al-khulwah ash-shar'iyyah), then she is not required to observe an 'iddah, based on the words of the Almighty: "O you who have believed, when you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, then there is not for you any 'iddah to count concerning them. So provide for them and give them a gracious release."

However, if lawful privacy occurred, then the 'iddah becomes obligatory according to the majority of scholars. The 'iddah begins from the time of the Khul' and does not require an intention. - If the wife menstruates, her 'iddah ends with purification from the third menstrual cycle, based on the words of the Almighty: "Divorced women remain in waiting for three periods." - If she does not menstruate (due to illness, youth, or old age), her 'iddah is three months, based on the words of the Almighty: "And those women past childbearing among you, if you have doubts, their period of waiting is three months, and also those who have not menstruated."

The 'iddah is a right of Allah Almighty, and it becomes obligatory upon the woman as soon as its cause occurs (divorce or death). Its rulings are applied without the need for an intention. Khul' is considered by most scholars to be an irrevocable divorce, after which the wife is not lawful for her husband except through a new marriage contract.