68/1. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5251 — Divorce During Menstruation
"O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Idda and count their 'Idda."
أَحْصَيْنَاهُ} حَفِظْنَاهُ وَعَدَدْنَاهُ، وَطَلاَقُ السُّنَّةِ أَنْ يُطَلِّقَهَا طَاهِرًا مِنْ غَيْرِ جِمَاعٍ، وَيُشْهِدُ شَاهِدَيْنِ.
Hadith About Divorce During Menstruation and the Proper Waiting Period
Sahih Bukhari : 5251
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5251
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّهُ طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ وَهْىَ حَائِضٌ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَأَلَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مُرْهُ فَلْيُرَاجِعْهَا، ثُمَّ لِيُمْسِكْهَا حَتَّى تَطْهُرَ ثُمَّ تَحِيضَ، ثُمَّ تَطْهُرَ، ثُمَّ إِنْ شَاءَ أَمْسَكَ بَعْدُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ طَلَّقَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَمَسَّ، فَتِلْكَ الْعِدَّةُ الَّتِي أَمَرَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُطَلَّقَ لَهَا النِّسَاءُ ".
`Abdullah bin `Umar Narrated from:
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar: that he had divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about that. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Order him (your son) to take her back and keep her till she is clean and then to wait till she gets her next period and becomes clean again, whereupon, if he wishes to keep her, he can do so, and if he wishes to divorce her he can divorce her before having sexual intercourse with her; and that is the prescribed period which Allah has fixed for the women meant to be divorced."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5251In-book reference : Book 68, Hadith 1USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 63, Hadith 178
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5251
This hadith about divorce during menstruation gives a clear ruling from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Abdullah ibn Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating. Umar asked the Prophet about it. The Prophet told him to order Ibn Umar to take her back and keep her until she became clean, then wait until she menstruated again and became clean again. After that, if he wished, he could keep her, and if he wished, he could divorce her before having sexual relations with her. The hadith connects divorce with the prescribed period Allah fixed for women meant to be divorced. It teaches that divorce is not to be handled in anger or without attention to the proper time.
What we learn from this hadith
- Divorce during menstruation was corrected by the Prophet.
- Ibn Umar was ordered to take his wife back.
- The proper timing was explained before divorce could be given again.
- Divorce should follow the prescribed period mentioned in the hadith.
