There is a Period during which Divorced Women remain in Their Homes. The Prophet was addressed first in this Ayah, to honor him, even though his Ummah is also being addressed in Allah's statement, {O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah} Al-Bukhari recorded that 'Abdullah bin 'Umar divorced his wife, during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger, while she was menstruating. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab mentioned that to Allah's Messenger. Allah's Messenger became angry and said, "Order him to take her back and keep her until she is clean from her menses, and then to wait until she gets her next period and becomes clean again. Then, if he wishes to divorce her, he can divorce her when she is clean from her menses, before he has sexual intercourse with her. This is the 'Iddah which Allah the Exalted and Most Honored has fixed." Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith in several parts of his Sahih. Muslim collected this Hadith and his narration uses these words, "This is the 'Iddah which Allah has fixed for the women being divorced." In his Sahih, Muslim has recorded a Hadith which is a more appropriate version from a narration of Ibn Jurayj who said that Abu Az-Zubayr informed him that he heard 'Abdur-Rahman bin Ayman, the freed slave of 'Azzah, questioning 'Abdullah bin 'Umar. And Abu Az-Zubayr heard the question, "What about a man who divorces his wife while she is still on her menses?" 'Abdullah answered, "During the time of Allah's Messenger, 'Abdullah bin 'Umar divorced his wife who was menstruating. So 'Umar went to Allah's Messenger, and the Messenger of Allah said, 'Order him to take her back.' So I took her back, and when she became clean, I either divorced her or kept her." Ibn 'Umar then recited the Ayah, {O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah} This is a very authentic chain of narration, and the scholars compiled many similar narrations. It is recorded in a number of collections of the Sahihs and Sunan. Therefore, the meaning of, {divorce them at their 'Iddah} is 'when they are clean of their menses and before having sexual intercourse with them.' Consequently, Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Umar, 'Ata', Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, Maymun bin Mihran and Muqatil bin Hayyan said that, {divorce them at their 'Iddah} means, when they are clean of their menses, without having had sexual intercourse with them. This is why the scholars say that women are divorced during two periods, a period of Sunnah and a period of innovation. The divorce of the Sunnah is when the husband divorces his wife when she is clean of her menses, and he has not had sexual intercourse with her. Or he can divorce her when it is clear that she is pregnant. The innovated divorce is when one divorces his wife when she is menstruating, or when she is clean but after he had sexual intercourse with her, and he does not know if she is pregnant or not. The third type of divorce is when a husband divorces a woman before having sexual intercourse with her, or he divorces a young wife who has not yet started to have her menses, or an older wife whose menses has ceased. This divorce is neither a Sunnah nor an innovation. Allah said, {and count their 'Iddah.} meaning, count for it and know its beginning and end, so that the 'Iddah does not become prolonged for the woman and she cannot get married again, {And have Taqwa of Allah, your Lord.} in this matter. Spending and Housing is up to the Husband during the Revocable 'Iddah Period. Allah said, {And turn them not out of their homes nor shall they leave,} meaning, during the duration of the 'Iddah, she has the right to housing from her husband, as long as the 'Iddah period continues. Therefore, the husband does not have the right to force her out of her house, nor is she allowed to leave his house, because she is still tied to the marriage contract. Allah said, {except in case they are guilty of Fahishah Mubayyinah.} meaning that the divorced wife is not to abandon her husband's house unless she commits Fahishah Mubayyinah, in which case, she vacates her husband's house. For example, Fahishah Mubayyinah implies adultery, according to 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Ibn 'Abbas, Sa'id bin Al-Musayyib, Ash-Shafi'i, Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Mujahid, 'Ikrimah, Sa'id bin Jubayr, Abu Qilabah, Abu Salih, Ad-Dahhak, Zayd bin Aslam, 'Ata' Al-Khurasani, As-Suddi, Sa'id bin Hilal and others. Fahishah Mubayyinah implies disobeying her husband openly or when she abuses her husband's family in words and actions, according to Ubay bin Ka'b, Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ikrimah and others. Allah's statement, {And those are the set limits of Allah.} means, these are from His legislation and prohibitions, {And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allah,} meaning, whoever violates these limits, transgresses them and implements anything else besides them, {then indeed he has wronged himself.} by doing so. The Wisdom of 'Iddah at the Husband's House. Allah said, {You know not, it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass.} meaning, 'We commanded that the divorced wife remains in her husband's house during the 'Iddah period, so that the husband might regret his action and Allah decides that the husband feels in his heart for the marriage to continue.' This way, returning to his wife will be easier for him. Az-Zuhri said that 'Ubaydullah bin 'Abdullah said that Fatimah bint Qays said about Allah's statement, {You know not, it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass.} "Taking her back." Similar was said by Ash-Shafi'i, 'Ata', Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Muqatil bin Hayyan and Ath-Thawri. The Irrevocably Divorced Woman does not have a Right to Provisions and Accommodations from the Husband. Here the view of the scholars of the Salaf and those who follow them is that housing is not obligatory in the case of the irrevocably divorced woman. They also relied on the Hadith of Fatimah bint Qays Al-Fihriyah when her husband Abu 'Amr bin Hafs divorced her the third and final time. He was away from her in Yemen at the time, and he sent her his decision to divorce her. He also sent some barley with his messenger, but she did not like the amount or method of compensation. He said, "By Allah I am not obligated to spend upon you." So, she went to Allah's Messenger, who said, "There is no obligation on him to spend on you." Muslim added in his narration, "nor housing." And he ordered her to finish her 'Iddah period in the house of Umm Sharik. He then said, "She is a woman my Companions visit. Spend this period in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum, for he is a blind man; you can take off your garments in his house." Imam Ahmad recorded that Fatimah bint Qays said, "My husband divorced me the third and final time. So I went to the Messenger of Allah and informed him. He said, 'You do not have the right to housing or to provisions.'" Muslim collected this Hadith. Abu Dawud recorded that Fatimah bint Qays said that her husband divorced her the third and final time. The Messenger of Allah said, "You do not have a right to spending nor housing." This is the wording of Abu Dawud. An-Nasa'i also recorded it. All these narrations belong to the Sunan and Sahih collections, and there are many other similar narrations. Another Hadith. Imam Ahmad recorded that Qubaysah bin Zayd said that a woman from the tribe of Banu 'Udhrah was divorced by her husband the third and final time. So 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said to him, "You must provide housing and spending for her." Marwan said, "You do not have to provide housing and spending." Ibn 'Umar rebuked Marwan, but Marwan said, "Fatimah bint Qays reported a Hadith about this." Ibn 'Umar said, "Fatimah bint Qays is a woman who has a bad tongue, so Allah's Messenger housed her with Ibn Umm Maktum, because he is a blind man and she could take off her garments in his house." Another Hadith. Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded that Tariq bin Shihab said that a woman from the tribe of Banu Makhzum was divorced by her husband the third and final time. So she went to the Prophet and he said to her, "You do not have a right to spending nor housing. Therefore, stay with Ibn Umm Maktum, for he is a blind man and you can take off your garments in his house." This is the wording of At-Tabarani. In his book of Sunan, An-Nasa'i recorded from Tariq bin Shihab that Fatimah bint Qays said, "O Allah's Messenger! My husband divorced me the third and final time. Do I have the right to spending and housing?" He said, "No. But you must spend your 'Iddah period in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum, because he is a blind man and you can take off your garments in his house." Another Hadith. At-Tabarani recorded that 'Amir Ash-Sha'bi said that Fatimah bint Qays said, "My husband divorced me the third and final time. So I went to the Prophet and he said, 'The husband is obligated to provide spending and housing for the divorced wife if he can return to her. If she is not permitted for him anymore, until she marries another husband, then he does not have to provide her with spending and housing.'" An-Nasa'i also recorded this narration.