In the broader passage, this verse explains how many times a revocable divorce may be issued. After each pronouncement of divorce, the couple may reconsider and the husband may take back his wife within the waiting period (*‘iddah*), with no need for a new marriage contract. If they wish to reconcile after the waiting period, this requires a fresh contract (*‘aqd, nikah*).

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The following verse ({2:230](https://quran.com/2/230)) then describes what happens if a third divorce is issued: that is irrevocable, and the marriage cannot be reinstated except in very particular circumstances.

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The sequence can be summarized in translation like this: “(Revocable) divorce is two times…Then if he divorces her (a third time), she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband. Then if he (i.e. the new husband) divorces her, there is no sin on them if they (the wife and first husband) return to one another…”

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After a third divorce, it is not possible for husband and wife to reunite unless she marries a new husband and later separates from him after the marriage has been consummated. This limit was legislated to bring an end to an unjust practice from the pre-Islamic era in which men would divorce their wives repeatedly, preventing them from enjoying a proper marriage and from moving on.



If divorce may be enacted three times, why does this verse seem to limit them to two?

This verse clarifies the ruling of revocable divorce, which may be issued twice, as the third divorce is irrevocable.

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. It clarifies the Sunnah method of divorce, which is to issue only one divorce within one period of purity. [Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid]
2. It explains the limit within which the husband retains the right to take his wife back after divorce (i.e. after the first or second divorce). [ʿUrwah, Qatādah, Ibn Qutaybah, al-Zajjāj, and others]

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. It refers to the third divorce. [ʿAṭāʾ, Mujāhid, Muqātil]
2. It means refraining from taking her back and allowing her waiting period (*ʿiddah*) to elapse. [al-Ḍaḥḥāk, al-Suddī] Qāḍī Abū Yaʿlā comments: This is the correct interpretation because, immediately following this verse, Allah states: "And if he divorces her [again], then she is not lawful to him afterward until she marries another husband" (2:230). The divorce referred to in this instance is clearly the third. Therefore, "release (her) with kindness" should be understood as allowing the waiting period to pass without taking her back. If it were interpreted as referring to the third divorce, the following verse "And if he divorces her..." would suggest a fourth divorce, which is not permissible.

What is meant by "release (her) with kindness" in this āyah?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. It is permitted. [ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Ḥasan, Mujāhid, al-Nakhaʿī, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī].
2. It is not permitted. [Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, ʿAṭāʾ, al-Shaʿbī, Ṭāwūs, Ibn Jubayr, al-Zuhrī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Also reported from ʿAlī and al-Ḥasan].

Is it permissible for the husband to take more than he gave his wife in dowry when the woman ransoms herself out of marriage (i.e. *khulʿ*)?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. It is permissible without a judge. [Majority, including ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ibn ʿUmar, Ṭāwūs, Shurayḥ, and al-Zuhrī]
2. It is not permissible without a judge. [al-Ḥasan, Ibn Sīrīn, Qatādah]

Is *khulʿ* permissible without a judge or similar authority?