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Does a triple divorce take effect if it becomes clear that the wife was pregnant after the divorce, and does the occurrence of the divorce depend on the gender of the newborn (male or female)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a man divorces his wife with three pronouncements of divorce, she becomes irrevocably divorced from him, and she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband willingly, not for the purpose of making her lawful for her previous husband. This is based on the Almighty's saying: "And if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until she marries another husband."

The divorce of a pregnant woman takes effect immediately upon its issuance and does not depend on childbirth. Any assertion that the divorce takes effect after childbirth or is invalid is baseless.

The husband must separate from his wife who has been divorced three times. It would have been better for him to be patient with her or to marry someone else if he could be just.

The waiting period (iddah) of a divorced pregnant woman ends upon her delivery, as the Almighty says: "And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they deliver their burden."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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