What is the ruling on a divorce that occurred during a period of purity in which I touched my wife, who is still a virgin, with sexual desire present at the time of the divorce? And what should be done in this case? And what is the Sharia stance on the wife and her family refusing to complete the waiting period in the husband’s home?

Divorcing a woman during her menstruation, or during a period of purity in which sexual intercourse (full penetration of the glans) has occurred, is an innovative (bid‘i) divorce and is considered valid by most scholars. The husband is sinful for it if he was aware of the prohibition. However, if the sexual intercourse was without full penetration of the glans, then the divorce is a sunni (lawful) divorce.

If a husband divorces his wife during a period of purity in which he had touched her, he is not obligated to take her back (rāj‘ah). Restoration (raj‘ah) occurs through an explicit statement or an implicit one accompanied by intention, and it is recommended to have witnesses for it.

A wife who is in her revocable (raj‘i) period of waiting (iddah) is treated like a wife; her husband has the right to be in seclusion with her, enjoy her company, and travel with her, and she is obligated to return to his home. If her iddah expires without a revocation, she becomes irrevocably separated from him. If he revokes the divorce before the expiry of the iddah, she remains his wife, regardless of whether she consents or not.