Why does divorce not befall a menstruating woman, and does it take effect after her purification?

The majority of jurists believe that the divorce of a menstruating woman is valid, and that whoever divorces a menstruating woman has sinned, and their divorce is valid according to the general consensus of scholars. None disagreed with this except the people of innovation and misguidance, such as Ibn 'Ulayyah, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, and the Shiites. However, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah differed, holding that the divorce of a menstruating woman is not valid.