Is the husband's return to his wife after the second divorce and the expiry of the waiting period, solely through cohabitation without a contract or dowry, considered a valid marriage, and does the third divorce take effect based on that invalid return?

If a man marries and divorces his wife with one or two pronouncements, he may take her back as long as she is within her waiting period (iddah). If the waiting period ends without him taking her back, she becomes irrevocably separated from him with a minor separation (baynunah sughra), and she is not lawful for him except with a new contract and a new dower.

Therefore, cohabiting with a wife who has become irrevocably separated (bain) after the expiry of her iddah without a new contract is forbidden by scholarly consensus, and it is considered adultery. The two who committed adultery must repent and conceal themselves. The third divorce does not occur in this situation because it does not apply to a valid marriage.

If the man wishes to marry the woman again, he must ensure she is free from pregnancy by waiting for one menstrual cycle, then he can عقد عليها (enter into a new marriage contract with her). There is no prescribed punishment for him if he was ignorant of the prohibition of cohabiting after the iddah, and the child born from such a union is attributed to him.