2554. It is good for those who by means of suckling have developed a familial relationship to one another to respect one another. However they will not inherit from one another and will not share the family rights that a man shares with his family.
2555. It is recommended to nurse a child for two complete years.
2556. If, due to suckling, the rights of a husband are not violated in any way, his wife can suckle another child without his permission. However, it is not permissible to suckle a child who will become forbidden to her husband due to suckling.
A great number of renowned scholars (may the Lord elevate their status) have stated, “if a man contracts marriage with a girl who is being suckled, his wife should not suckle this girl at all, because if she suckles the girl, the wife will become the mother-in-law of the husband, and therefore becomes haram for him.” This ruling however is problematic. However the girl with whom the man contracted married becomes forbidden for him, regardless of whether the milk belonged to the husband, or it belonged to someone other than her husband but the marriage has been consummated.
2557. A group of the jurisprudents (may the Lord raise their status) have stated, “if someone wants his brother’s wife to become ma¦ram to him, he must contract temporary marriage for—for example—two days with a girl who is being suckled, and for those two days, given the conditions of rule no. 2537, his brother’s wife should suckle this girl, because the woman becomes the nursing mother of his wife.” However this ruling is problematic.
2558. If prior to contracting marriage with a woman, a man says, “due to suckling, this woman is forbidden for me”, or for example he says, “her mother has suckled me,” and if it is possible for his statement to be true, he cannot marry this woman. If he says this after the marriage, and the woman also accepts his statement, the marriage is void. Thus if a man has not yet consummated his marriage with her, or has done so but at the time of intercourse the woman knew that she was forbidden for him, she is not entitled to any mahr. However if she realizes after consummating the marriage with him that she was forbidden for him, the husband should pay her the mahr according to the usual amount that is given to women like her.
2559. If before the marriage, a woman claims to be forbidden for the man due to suckling, then, if it is possible to verify her statement, she cannot marry that man. If, however she claims this after the marriage, it is similar to the case where the man states after marriage that the woman is forbidden for him, and the precept for such a case has been elaborated in the previous article.
2560. Suckling a child which becomes the cause of becoming ma¦ram to a child, can be proven through the following two ways:
1. One attains confidence or certainty.
2. The testimony of two just men, or one man and two women, or four just women. It is also necessary for each one of them to describe the circumstances under which the child was suckled. For example they must say, “We have seen so and so child suckling milk from the breasts of so and so woman for twenty four hours and it had not consumed anything else during this period.” Similarly, they should also address all the other conditions which have been mentioned in article 2538.
2561. If one doubts whether or not a child has suckled the required quantity of milk which causes him to become ma¦ram, or he speculates that the child may have suckled that amount or not, the child does not become ma¦ram to anyone. However, it is better to practice precaution.
2562. A man who divorces his wife must be b¡ligh, and even though the validity of a divorce given by a ten year old child in not without merit, one should practice precaution in this case. He must also be sane, and divorce his wife of his own volition. If he is forced to divorce his wife, the divorce will be void. He should also have the intention of divorcing his wife. Hence, if he utters the formal expressions of divorce in jest, it will not be valid.
2563. The wife should be pure from the blood of ¦ay¤ and nif¡s at the time of the divorce. Her husband should not have engaged in intercourse with her during that period of purity. These two conditions will be elaborated in subsequent articles.
2564. The divorce of a woman who is in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s is only valid in the following three cases:
1. Her husband has not consummated the marriage with her.
2. She is known to be pregnant. If she is not known to be pregnant, and her husband divorces her whilst she is in the state of ¦ay¤, but later finds out that she was in fact pregnant, the obligatory precaution is that he should divorce her again.
3. The man is unable to determine whether his wife is pure from the blood of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s, owing to his absence or some other reason.
2565. If a person knows his wife to be pure from the blood of ¦ay¤ and nif¡s, and therefore divorces her, but later realizes that she was in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s at the time of the divorce, the divorce will not be valid.
If however he knows her to be in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s, but divorces her nonetheless, and later finds out that she was not in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s, the divorce will be valid.
2566. If a person knows that his wife is in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s, and then he goes away from her, for example owing to a journey, but wishes to divorce her, and is unable to acquire information about her state, then he should wait until he acquires certainty or confidence that she is pure (from ¦ay¤ or nif¡s), and then he may divorce her.
2567. If a person who is not present wishes to divorce his wife, then if he is able to know whether his wife is in the state of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s or neither of them, then he should find out using any means possible such that he acquires certainty or confidence. However, if after one month of being away from her, he is unable to determine her state, he may divorce her.
2568. If a person engages in intercourse with his wife who is pure from the blood of ¦ay¤ or nif¡s, and then wishes to divorce her, he must wait until she observes the blood of ¦ay¤ once again, and is purified from it. However, if a girl who has not completed nine lunar years, or a woman who is pregnant, is divorced after intercourse, there will be no problem (in the validity of the divorce). The same will apply if she is a y¡’isah, the definition of which was elaborated in article 441.
2569. If a person engages in intercourse with his wife who is pure from the state of ¦ay¤ and nif¡s, and then divorces her during the period of purity, but later finds out that she was pregnant at the time of the divorce, the obligatory precaution is that he should divorce her again.
2570. If a person engages in intercourse with his wife who is pure from the state of ¦ay¤ and nif¡s, and then goes away from her, for example owing to a journey, then if he wishes to divorce her on the journey, and is unable to obtain any information about her state, he will have to wait for one month.
2571. If a man wishes to divorce his wife who does not menstruate, be it from birth or be it owing to another reason, then from the day he had intercourse with her, he should refrain from having intercourse with her for three months, and then he may divorce her.
2572. The divorce must be pronounced using the correct Arabic formal expressions, employing the word §¡liq, and two just persons should hear it. If the husband himself wishes to pronounce the formal expressions of divorce, and the name of his wife—for example—is F¡§imah, he must say:
زَوْجَتِي فاطِمَةُ طالِق
My wife F¡§imah is released.
If he wishes to deputize someone else, the deputy must say:
زَوْجَةُ مُوَكِّلِي فاطِمَةُ طالِق
The wife of the person whom I represent, F¡§imah, is released.
In the event that the wife has been specified, it will not be necessary to mention her name.
2573. A lady who has been contracted in a temporary marriage, for one month or one year (as an example), is not subject to divorce. She is released when the marriage period comes to an end, or the man gifts the remaining period to her, by—for example—stating, “I have gifted the marriage period to you,” It is not necessary to have witnesses, nor is it necessary for the wife to be pure from ¦ay¤ or nif¡s.
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.
2581. If a woman whose husband has passed away is not pregnant, she should observe an ‘iddah for four months and ten days. That is, she should avoid marrying another man during that period, regardless of whether her husband had consummated their marriage or not, she is a minor or not, a y¡’isah or not, her marriage is a permanent one or a temporary one.
If however she is pregnant, she should observe her ‘iddah until she gives birth to the child. However, if she gives birth before the passage of four months and ten days, then she must wait until fourth months and ten days have passed after the death of her husband. This ‘iddah is known as the ‘iddah of a widow.
2582. It is prohibited for a free woman who is observing the ‘iddah of a widow to adorn her body or her clothes, such as applying kohl, using fragrances, and wearing colorful clothes. This precept is lifted from a minor and an insane person. It has also not been substantiated that their guardian must prohibit them from adorning themselves. As for a lady who has been contracted in a temporary marriage for a period of two days or less, she is not prohibited from adorning herself.
2583. If a woman attains certainty that her husband has passed away, and after the culmination of the ‘iddah of a widow, she marries again only to find out later on that her husband died later (than she thought), she must separate from the second husband. In the event that she is pregnant, then obligatory precaution dictates that she should observe the ‘iddah for the second husband until she gives birth to the child, which is the ‘iddah for a divorce. However, if she is not pregnant, she should observe the ‘iddah of a widow for her first husband, and for the second husband, she should observe the ‘iddah of one who had intercourse under doubtful circumstances, which is the same as the ‘iddah of a divorce.
