How does a marriage end?
Permanent marriage ends with divorce which according to traditions is the most hated Halal act to Allah.
According to the Islamic laws, it is the man who has the right to initiate the divorce. It is possible for the wife to have this right by proxy, only if it was agreed upon in the marriage contract.
Divorce takes place by uttering the formula of divorce in Arabic, if it is possible. The man says: “زوجتي طالق” “Zawjatī Tāliq”, my wife is divorced. Or addressing the wife he says: “أنت طالق” “Anti Tāliq”, you are divorced.
- He must intend the divorce by his words.
- And two just witnesses must be present.
- Also, the divorce has to take place during a pure state after menses or giving birth, when there hasn’t been any sexual relations between them in that period of time.
But the temporary marriage ends in two ways:
- The first is by the end of the specified duration which they agreed on conducting the marriage.
- The second isthat the husband foregoes the remaining duration. Know that there is no divorce in temporary marriage.
An important note; in temporary marriage the couple remains married while the specified period remains, and mere separation and disconnecting will not expire it. The temporary marriage ends only when the husband foregoes the remaining time or when the duration agreed upon ends.
Question: Is it permissible for a woman who is a widow, divorcee or has finished her temporary marriage, to be married to someone else?
It is definitely allowed but before that, she should wait and complete the period of Iddah. This waiting period is compulsory after the death of the husband or after divorce or after the temporary marriage ends.
In general, the Iddah or the waiting period is described like this:
- For a divorcee it is a period of three-monthly cycles. In some instances, the Iddah can be three months.
- The Iddah for a pregnant woman ends when she gives birth, or God forbids when she has a miscarriage.
- The Iddah for a widow is four months and ten days. But if she was pregnant, it is compulsory on her to perform the waiting period of the widow and that of pregnancy.
- And the Iddah after a temporary marriage is two menstrual cycles if her cycle is normal and generally 45 days is for special instances.
There are certain situations when the Iddah is not needed. For example, a woman who has reached menopause or a woman who was never physically intimate with her husband can get married immediately after their divorce or after the end of their temporary marriage.
