Divorce (talaq)

In his commentary on al-Baqara 2:228-232, Sha'rawi reads divorce in stages, once and then twice, as giving the couple room to mend. He holds that returning after the waiting period needs a new contract and a new dower and the woman's consent. ¹

Sha'rawi describes the condition of women in the jahiliyya: a man divorced his wife and took her back again and again without limit, leaving her suspended for months, and a widow was secluded after her husband's death. He says Islam settled this disorder. ^{3 4}

Sha'rawi holds that the wisdom in divorce being once or twice is that a couple who failed the first time may succeed the second, so Allah gave time to correct the first mistake. ¹

If the waiting period has ended and the spouses wish to return, this happens only through a new contract and a new dower. Sha'rawi notes that relatives may block the return out of fear of repetition, and says that once consent is reached no one should stand in its way. ^{1 2}

Sha'rawi notes that the verse attributes the marriage to the women ('that they marry their husbands'), which implies the woman's consent to returning, so a man cannot divorce her and then give her no say in the return. ¹