2574. A girl who has not completed nine lunar years, and a y¡’isah do not have to observe an ‘iddah. This means that even if their husbands may have engaged in intercourse with them, they can marry immediately after being divorced.
2575. A woman who has completed nine lunar years, and is not a y¡’isah, if her husband has intercourse with her, she will have to observe the period of ‘iddah. A free woman ({^ One who is not a slave. (editor)^}) who observes ¦ay¤ and her ¦ay¤ is direct and normal, in that she is not of those ladies who—for example—observe ¦ay¤ once every three or four months, then the period of her ‘iddah is that she should wait—after her husband has divorced her in a period of purity wherein he has not had intercourse with her, and after the divorce she had been pure from ¦ay¤ even if it be for a mere moment—until she observes the blood of ¦ay¤ once again. Then, the moment she observes the blood of ¦ay¤ for the third time, her period of ‘iddah comes to an end. She will then be able to marry again.
However, if her husband divorces her prior to consummating their marriage, she has no ‘iddah to observe. She can marry immediately after her divorce.
2576. If a woman does not observe ¦ay¤, and she is of the age wherein women observe ¦ay¤, then if her husband divorces her after consummating their marriage, then she must observe an ‘iddah of three months after the divorce.
2577. If a woman whose ‘iddah is of three months, is divorced at the beginning of the month, then she must observe an ‘iddah for three lunar months, which is from the moment that the crescent was sighted until three months later. If however she is divorced in between the month, she should observe her ‘iddah for the rest of the month, followed by two more months, and then she should observe the remainder of the first month in the fourth month. The obligatory precaution in this case is that the remainder of the first month along with the period within the fourth month should amount to 30 days.
For example, if she was divorced at the sunset of the 20th day of the month, and that month contained 29 days, then she should observe her ‘iddah for the remaining nine days in the first month, followed by another two months, and then another 20 days in the fourth month, and based on obligatory precaution 21 days in the fourth month.
2578. If a pregnant woman is divorced, and her child is not conceived out of wedlock, then her ‘iddah will end when the child is born or is miscarried. Therefore, if for example, her child is born an hour after her divorce, her ‘iddah will have ended (upon the birth of her child).
2579. If a woman who has completed nine lunar years, and is not a y¡’isah, is married in a temporary marriage, for example for a month or a year, then if her husband consummates the marriage with her and the period of the temporary marriage comes to an end, or the husband gifts it to her, then she will have to observe an ‘iddah. Hence, if she observes ¦ay¤, then she will have to observe an ‘iddah for two complete periods of ¦ay¤, and she will be unable to marry during this period. If she does not observe ¦ay¤, she should observe an ‘iddah for 45 days. In the event that she is pregnant, then her ‘iddah will end when her child is born or miscarried. The recommended precaution is that she should observe an ‘iddah for the greater period between 45 days and the birth of her child.
2580. The ‘iddah of a divorce begins from the moment that the formal expressions are completely pronounced, regardless of whether the wife knows that she has been divorced or not. Therefore, if she finds out that she has been divorced after her ‘iddah comes to an end, she does not have to observe another ‘iddah.
