What is the wisdom behind stipulating that a woman must marry another man, a sound and valid marriage, with actual consummation, and then be divorced for genuine reasons, in order for her to return to her first husband who divorced her thrice? Has the reason for this been mentioned in the Sunnah?

God has granted men three pronouncements of divorce (talāq) in reverence for the institution of marriage, to protect women from manipulation and humiliation, and in appreciation of the consequences of divorce. The wisdom behind this lies in:

1. Granting the husband an opportunity to reconsider his decision in the first two pronouncements.

2. Highlighting the importance of the marriage contract and preventing it from being treated as a game. For if a husband were allowed to take his wife back every time he divorced her, divorce would lose its significance.

3. Safeguarding women from repeated harm, which was common in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah) where a man would divorce and then take his wife back with the intention of causing her harm.

4. Defining the final opportunities for reconciliation by stipulating marriage to another man, which prevents manipulation and magnifies the significance of the third pronouncement of divorce.

5. Demonstrating the genuine consent of the woman to return to her husband after their separation.

6. Making divorce a means of disciplining the husband for his impulsiveness and frustration.

7. Highlighting the gravity of the three pronouncements of divorce and preventing hasty actions regarding them.

8. Stipulating the "taste of the honey" (dhawq al-'usaylah) in the intervening marriage that permits remarriage to the first husband. This ensures the definitive nature of the divorce and prevents circumvention by divorcing the wife immediately after the contract. It also makes the husband feel the bitterness of losing his wife if he does not preserve his marriage.

In this, there are great wisdoms that protect marriage and women from corruption and manipulation.