Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
2519. A wife who is under nine and who is in her menopause will not be
required to observe any waiting period. It means that, even if the husband has
had sexual intercourse with her, she can remarry immediately after being
divorced.
2520. If a wife who has completed nine years of her age and is not in
menopause, is divorced by her husband after sexual intercourse, it is necessary
for her to observe the waiting period of divorce. The waiting period of a free
woman is that after her husband divorces her during her Pak period, she should
wait till she sees Haidh twice and becomes Pak. Thereafter, as soon as she sees
Haidh for the third time, her waiting period will be over and she can marry
again.
If, however, a husband divorces his wife before having sexual
intercourse with her, there is no waiting period for her and she can marry
another man immediately after being divorced, except if she finds traces of her
husband's semen in her private part, then she should observe Iddah.
2521. If a woman does not see Haidh in spite of being the age of women
who normally see Haidh, if her husband divorces her after sexual intercourse,
she should observe Iddah for three months after divorce.
2522. If a woman whose Iddah is of three months, is divorced on the
first of a month, she should observe Iddah for three lunar months, that is, for
three months from the time the moon is sighted. And if she is divorced during
the month, she should observe Iddah for the remaining days in the month added to
two months thereafter, and again for the balance from the fourth month so as to
complete three months.
For example, if she is divorced on the 20th of the
month at the time of sunset and that month is of 29 days, she should observe
Iddah for nine days of that month and the two months following it, and for
twenty days of the fourth month. In fact, the obligatory precaution is that in
the fourth month, she should observe Iddah for twenty one days so that the total
number of the days of the first month and the fourth month comes to thirty.
2523. If a pregnant woman is divorced, her Iddah lasts till the birth
or miscarriage of the child. Hence, if, for example, she gives birth to a child
one hour after being divorced, her Iddah is over. But this is in the case of a
legitimate child of the husband who is divorcing. If the pregnancy is
illegitimate, and her husband divorces her, the Iddah will not be over.
2524. If a woman who has completed nine years of age, and is not in
menopause, contracts a temporary marriage, for example, if she marries a man for
a period of one month or a year and the period of her marriage comes to an end,
or her husband exempts her from the remaining period, she should observe Iddah.
If she sees Haidh, she should observe Iddah for two periods of Haidh, and cannot
marry again during that period.
But if she does not see Haidh, then she
should refrain from marrying another man for forty five days. And if she is
pregnant, she should observe Iddah till the birth or miscarriage of the child,
or for forty five days and as a recommended precaution, she should wait for
whichever period is longer.
2525. The time of the Iddah of divorce commences when the formula of
divorce is pronounced, irrespective of whether the wife knows about it or not.
Hence, if she comes to know after the end of the Iddah that she had been
divorced, it is not necessary for her to observe Iddah again.