لِلَّذِينَ يُؤْلُونَ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ فَإِنْ فَاءُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿۲۲۶﴾ وَإِنْ عَزَمُوا الطَّلَاقَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۲۲۷﴾ وَالْمُطَلَّقَاتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ ثَلَاثَةَ قُرُوءٍ وَلَا يَحِلُّ لَهُنَّ أَنْ يَكْتُمْنَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي أَرْحَامِهِنَّ إِنْ كُنَّ يُؤْمِنَّ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَبُعُولَتُهُنَّ أَحَقُّ بِرَدِّهِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ إِنْ أَرَادُوا إِصْلَاحًا وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَلِلرِّجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَةٌ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿۲۲۸﴾
﴾226﴿ Lillazeena yu'loona min nisaaa'ihim tarabbusu arba'ati ashhurin fain faaa'oo fa innal laaha Ghafoorur Raheem
﴾227﴿ Wa in 'azamut talaaqa fa innal laaha Samee'un 'Aleem
﴾228﴿ Walmutallaqaatu yatarab basna bi anfusihinna salaasata qurooo'; wa laa yahillu lahunna ai yaktumna maa khalaqal laahu feee arhaaminhinna in kunna yu'minna billaahi wal yawmil aakhir; wa bu'oola tuhunna ahaqqu biraddihinna fee zaalika in araadooo islaahaa; wa lahunna mislul lazee alaihinna bilma'roof; wa lirrijjaali 'alaihinna daraja; wallaahu 'Azeezun Hakeem
﴾226﴿ For those who swear to separate from their wives, a waiting period of four months is prescribed. But if they return (from their oath), then indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
﴾227﴿ And if they intend divorce, then surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing of everything.
﴾228﴿ And the women who are divorced shall wait concerning themselves for three menstrual cycles.
And it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day.
And their husbands have more right to take them back during that period, if they intend reconciliation.
And for them (the women) are rights similar to those upon them in accordance with what is fair.
But men have a degree over them, and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
[226] This is the tenth ruling, meaning that separation from a wife must be done in a lawful manner.
The first method is the issue of īlāʼ.
This is a rejection of the pre-Islamic practice where a man would swear an oath and consider his wife permanently forbidden.
Īlāʼ means swearing an oath to separate from one’s wife.
If a specific period is set—one month or more, up to four months—or no period is set at all, the waiting period will still be four months.
(Fa-in fāʼū): If he returns to his wife after four months or divorces her, then according to most of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), returning must occur within the four months.
[227] In this ruling is the matter of īlāʼ; if he returns within four months or after (according to differing opinions), there is no sin. If he does not return, then one divorce takes effect.
[228] This verse mentions the waiting period (‘iddah) for those women who are not pregnant, who menstruate, who are free (not slaves), and who have had intercourse with their husbands.
Thus, the waiting period for this type of woman is three menstrual cycles (according to one opinion).
Therefore, in this verse, the rights of both the husband and the wife are mentioned, and the superiority of the man is also stated.
(Qurūʼ) is the plural of qurʼ, which refers to either menstruation or purity.
(Fī arḥāmihinna) refers to pregnancy or menstruation; they must not conceal it, because the type of ‘iddah depends on it.
(Aḥaqqu biraddihinna) means that the husband has more right to take them back, and aḥaqq is mentioned here due to the intention of reconciliation.
(Wa lahunna mithlu)—this short phrase refers to many mutual rights between husband and wife; mithl here means similarity in obligation, not in quantity.
(Wa lil-rijāli ‘alayhinna darajah)—this clearly states the superiority of men, meaning that men are more suited for responsibilities in such matters than women.