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What is the ruling regarding the second divorce pronounced by the husband upon his wife in front of the judge, after he claimed that he had taken her back after the first divorce, knowing that she has been expelled from his home for about 5 months?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a pregnant woman is divorced and her husband does not take her back before she delivers, her iddah (waiting period) ends upon delivery. Regarding the husband's claim of having taken her back after the first divorce: if this claim is not established by evidence or by the wife's consent, then the iddah is not valid, and the second divorce is not effective. If the رجعة (taking back) is established by evidence and the wife's consent, then it is valid. In this case, his statement "she should not return home, for she is a stranger [to me]" must be examined: if he did not intend divorce by it, or intended to confirm the first divorce, then it does not count as a new divorce. However, if he intended to initiate a new divorce, then it is effective. As for the divorce that occurs before the judge, it is effective if the wife is still under his marital bond. It is considered a second divorce if preceded by one, and a third if preceded by two. It is advisable to present this matter to a Sharia court due to its complexity.

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

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