Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he was asked about a person who divorced his wife and then had intercourse with her without calling any witnesses to the divorce or the reunion. He said: "You divorced (in a manner that is) against the Sunnah and took back (in a manner that is) against the Sunnah. Call someone to bear witness to her divorce and to her reunion, and do not do that again."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three things are binding regardless of whether they were expressed seriously or jokingly: marriage, divorce, and restoration (of a divorcee)."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Abd Yazīd — the father of Rukānah and his siblings — divorced Umm Rukānah and married a woman from Muzaynah. So the new wife came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "He does not satisfy me except like this hair does — referring to a hair that she took from her head — so separate between me and him." So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got angry and called Rukānah and his siblings. Then he said to those who were sitting with them: "Do you see that so-and-so resembles him in such-and-such?" meaning ‘Abd Yazīd, "and so-and-so resembles him in such-and-such?" They said: 'Yes.' Therefore, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to ‘Abd Yazīd: "Divorce her." So he did. Then he said: "Restore your wife, the mother of Rukānah and his siblings." He said: "I have divorced her thrice, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "I know; restore her." And he recited: {O Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period.} [Sūrat At-Talāq: 1]

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Verily, the reward of deeds depends on the intention, and a person will be rewarded according to what he intended. So, he whose migration is for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, then his migration is for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, and he whose migration is to achieve some worldly gain or take some woman in marriage, then his migration is for what he migrated for." In a version by Al-Bukhāri: "Verily, the reward of deeds depends on the intentions, and each person will be rewarded according to what he intended."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has forgiven my Ummah for the thoughts that come to their minds, unless they act upon them or utter them."

Salamah ibn Sakhr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was a man more given to sexual intercourse with women than others. When the month of Ramadan came, I feared lest I would have intercourse with my wife, and this would continue till the morning. So I swore that my wife would be as impermissible for me as my mother till the end of Ramadan. One night, however, when she was serving me, something of her was revealed, prompting me to jump upon her right away. In the morning, I went out to my people and informed them about this matter. I said: "Go along with me to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." They said: "No, by Allah." So I went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of the matter. He said: "Did you really do it, Salamah?" I said: "I did it twice, O Messenger of Allah, I am content with the judgment of Allah. So take a decision about me as Allah revealed to you." He said: "Free a neck (a slave)." I said: 'By the One Who sent you with truth! I do not possess a neck other than this," striking the surface of my own neck. He said: "Then fast two consecutive months." I said: "Indeed, the very act I committed was because of fasting." He said: "Feed sixty poor people with a Wasq of dates." I said: "By the One Who sent you with truth! We passed the night hungry; there was no food in our house." He said: "Then go to the collector of Zakah of Banu Zurayq, and let him give it to you, and feed sixty poor people with a Wasq of dates, and you and your family eat the remaining dates." I came back to my people and said to them: "I found with you restriction and bad opinion, but I found with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) spaciousness and wise opinion. He has ordered me – or for me – to be given from your Zakah."

Ad-Dahhāk ibn Fayrūz reported from his father that he said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I have embraced Islam, and I have two sisters as wives!' He said: 'Divorce whomever of them you wish.'"

Rāfi‘ ibn Sinān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I embraced Islam, but my wife refused to do so. She went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My daughter is weaned or about to be weaned." Rāfi‘ said: "My daughter." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man: "Sit down on this side." And he said to the woman: "Sit down on that side." He then seated the girl between them, and said to them: "Call her." The girl went to her mother and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘'O Allah, guide her," and the daughter then went to her father, who took her.

Ibn Shihāb reported that Sahl ibn Sa‘d As-Sā‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "‘Uwaymir al-‘Ajlāni went to ‘Āsim ibn ‘Adiyy al-Ansāri and asked: ‘O ‘Āsim, tell me, if a man sees his wife (sleeping) with another man, should he kill him, whereupon you will kill him (in retribution), or what should he do? O ‘Āsim, ask the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) about that.' ‘Āsim asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) about that, but the Prophet disliked the question and considered it disgraceful, which upset ‘Āsim. When he returned to his family, ‘Uwaymir went to him and said: ‘O ‘Āsim, what did the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say to you?’ ‘Āsim replied: ‘You did not bring me any good. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) disliked the question which I asked him.’ Thereupon, ‘Uwaymir said: ‘By Allah! I will not stop until I ask him about that.’ So, he went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) while he was amongst people, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, if a man finds another man (sleeping) with his wife, should he kill him, whereupon you will kill him (in retribution), or what should he do?’ The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Something has been revealed concerning you and your wife. So, go and bring her.’” Sahl said: "They both engaged in Li‘ān and I witnessed it along with the people in the Prophet’s presence. When they were done, ‘Uwaymir said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, If I kept her as a wife, It would mean that I fabricated a lie against her then.’ So, he pronounced divorce against her three times before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to do so.'” Ibn Shihāb added: “So it became a tradition to dissolve the marriage of those spouses who are involved in a case of Li‘ān.”

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Hilāl ibn Umayyah went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and accused his wife of committing illegal sexual intercourse with Sharīk ibn Sahmā'. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Either you provide proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back." Hilāl said: "O Messenger of Allah, if one of us saw a man on top of his wife, should he go and look for witnesses?" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kept saying: "Either you provide proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back." Hilāl then said: "By the One Who sent you with the Truth, I am truthful, and Allah will reveal to you what will save my back from the legal punishment." Then (the following) was revealed: {And for those who accuse their wives...} [Sūrat An-Nūr: 24:6] He kept reciting until he reached: {...if he was of the truthful.} [ Sūrat An-Nūr: 24:9]. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left and had her summoned. So Hilāl came and took an oath. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "Allah knows that one of you is a liar, so, will either of you repent?" Then the woman got up and took the oaths, and when she was about to take the fifth one, the people stopped her and said to her: "It will definitely bring about Allah's curse upon you (if you are guilty)." So she hesitated and recoiled so much that we thought that she would withdraw her denial. But she said: "I will not dishonor my family for the rest of their days." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: "Watch her, if she delivers a child with eyes that appear to have kohl on them, big bottoms, and fat shins, then it is Sharīk ibn Sahmā's child." (Later) she gave birth to a child fitting that description. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If it had not been settled in the Book of Allah, there would have been a matter between me and her."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a Bedouin man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My wife has given birth to a black boy." The Prophet asked him: "Do you have camels?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "What color are they?" He replied: 'Red.' The Prophet asked: "Is any of them gray?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "From where did that grayness come?" He said: "It might have inherited it from its ancestors." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps this son of yours (also) inherited it (this color) from his ancestors."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a Bedouin man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My wife has given birth to a black boy." The Prophet asked him: "Do you have camels?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "What color are they?" He replied: 'Red.' The Prophet asked: "Is any of them gray?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "From where did that grayness come?" He said: "It might have inherited it from its ancestors." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps this son of yours (also) inherited it (this color) from his ancestors."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās and ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah disputed over (the lineage of) a boy. Sa‘d said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is the son of my brother ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqās. He entrusted him to me saying that he was his own son. Just look at him and see how he resembles him." ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah said: "O Messenger of Allah, he is my brother, as he was born on the bed of my father from his slave girl." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the boy and saw that he clearly resembled ‘Utbah. Thereupon, he said: "He is yours, O ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah. The child belongs to the owner of the bed, and the stone is for the one who commits illegal sexual intercourse. O Sawdah, cover yourself from him." So, that boy never saw Sawdah uncovered.