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Is a man's divorce of his pregnant wife valid if they reconcile on the same day without anyone's knowledge or witnesses? Was she forbidden to him during the week following the reconciliation? Does she have an 'iddah while pregnant and in her family's home? Can she be reconciled with at any time, or must the 'iddah end?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a husband divorces his wife fewer than three times, he may take her back as long as she is within her waiting period ('iddah), and she is considered as his wife during this time. She must obey him if he commands her to return to his home, and the 'raj'ah' (revocation of divorce) is effected by sexual intercourse. The waiting period of a pregnant woman ends with her giving birth. Witnessing is not a condition for the validity of the divorce or the 'raj'ah', nor is the wife's consent or knowledge a condition for the 'raj'ah'. However, if the husband completes three divorces, the wife becomes irrevocably divorced from him (baynunah kubra), and she is not lawful for him unless she marries another man and he consummates the marriage with her, then he separates from her, and her waiting period from him ends.

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

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