Does a man's uttering of phrases of disbelief (kufr), even in a state of extreme anger, annul the marriage contract and necessitate its renewal with a dower (mahr) and witnesses? And does a man's divorce take effect if he had previously uttered disbelief without knowing that the contract was annulled?

Scholars agree that insulting Allah Almighty or insulting the religion is an act of apostasy that separates the apostate from his wife. They differed, however, on whether this separation is an annulment (faskh) or an irrevocable divorce (talaq bain). Regarding the view that it is an annulment, they differed on whether the annulment occurs simply by virtue of apostasy, or upon the expiration of the waiting period ('iddah) without repentance.

If the separation becomes irrevocable, the husband must perform a new marriage contract and pay a new dowry to take his wife back. If the separation is considered a divorce, she does not become lawful for him after three divorces until she marries another husband.

Divorcing the wife after her waiting period has expired and before her repentance does not affect her, because she is already irrevocably separated. As for divorcing her during her waiting period, there is a difference of opinion; according to the view that the separation is irrevocable from the moment of apostasy, the divorce does not affect her, while according to the other view, it does.