Issue 1257: When a man commits adultery with a woman knowing that she is not his wife, she should observe Iddah as an obligatory precaution if she does not know that the man is not her husband.

Q1258: A woman whose uterine has been excised by surgery, and whose tubes have been closed, and who is, from a medical point of view, definitely and certainly incapable of becoming pregnant, if she should get divorced, is it obligatory for her to keep Iddah, or does she come under the same ruling as a woman of under nine years of age or a menopausal woman?

A: A woman whose uterine has been excised at a menstruating age should keep Iddah after divorce, even if she is certain that she will not get pregnant.

Q1259: A woman who has got a revocable divorce or an irrevocable divorce while foregoing her marriage portion claims that due to the conflicts which she has had with her husband from six months before their divorce up until the actual time of divorce she has not had sexual intercourse with her husband. Is it obligatory for her, under such circumstances, to keep Iddah after divorce? In case the woman does not see herself under any obligation to observe the Iddah of her divorce and one month after her divorce, goes into a contract of temporary marriage with another man, what will the ruling be on her second marriage? Assuming that keeping Iddah has been obligatory for her, will she be infinitely illegal to her second husband or not?

A: It is obligatory to keep Iddah after divorce, even though there may not have been sexual intercourse for some months prior to divorce, and getting married while another person's Iddah should be kept, though be it a temporary marriage, is forbidden.

If a man marries a woman and then it becomes evident that she had been in her Iddah for some other man, as long as neither knew that the woman was in Iddah, or did not know that going into a marriage contract during Iddah is illegal, that woman will not become illegal to the man, even though they may have had sexual intercourse; however, their marriage contract is in any case void.

Q1260: A woman goes into a contract of temporary marriage with a man for one night, and on the same night, they have sexual intercourse and using a contraceptive pill, the woman assures that she is not going to be pregnant and then after having her first menstruation and a week before her second, she enters into a permanent marriage with some other man.

What would the ruling be on this? Is her second marriage considered as valid? Is it permissible for the woman to go into a permanent marriage contract with the same person after having two other menstrual periods? With regard to the fact that the man was not aware of the woman's being in her Iddah, is it obligatory for any third person, who knows about this to inform the husband while knowing that this would lead to the ruination of their marriage?

A: To keep the Iddah of a temporary marriage, a woman who has her regular periods, has to wait so as to have two menstrual periods after the end of the period of the marriage contract, or after being dispensed with the remaining term of the temporary marriage; and the menstrual period which a woman has at the time when the marriage contract ends, or when she is dispensed with the remaining term of the temporary marriage, does not count as one of the menstrual periods which she should have in her Iddah. As for a woman who is at an age when she must be menstruating, but she does not have her periods, she must keep a forty five-day Iddah; and marriage while being in the Iddah of another man, even be it the Iddah of a temporary marriage, is void.

If a man marries a woman and then it becomes evident that she had been in her Iddah for some other man, as long as neither knew that the woman was in Iddah, or did not know that going into a marriage contract during Iddah is illegal, that woman will not become illegal to the man, even if they may have had sexual intercourse; however, their marriage is in any case void, and informing the husband of the woman's Iddah is not obligatory, since it's declaration is among divine rights, and it is even illegal and forbidden and must be avoided by a true Muslim if it would lead to the ruination of their married life and their reputation and to other corruptions.

Q1261: With regard to the fact that today doctors are able to excise a portion of a woman's uterine tubes and thus prevent her from becoming pregnant, is it still necessary for divorced women of such kind to keep Iddah? If yes, then will the period of the Iddah remain unchanged?

A: Having had sexual intercourse Sayyid women (descendants of the Holy Prophet) must keep Iddah until sixty lunar years of age and non-Sayyid women must do so until fifty lunar years of age, even if they have had their entire uterine excised, let alone in other cases; and those women who do not menstruate, must keep a three-month Iddah after permanent marriage and a forty-five day Iddah after a temporary marriage.

Q1262: Having had anal intercourse with his wife after marrying her, the husband divorces her and she marries another man before her Iddah is completed. What is the verdict on the woman's second marriage?

A: I believe that anal intercourse does not necessitate keeping Iddah; however, it is a recommended precaution to keep Iddah in such a case too; it should be said that even if we consider Iddah as obligatory in such a case and thus believe that her second marriage has been illegal, it is unnecessary to notify others of such things and even forbidden to do so in some cases.

Q1263: What is the verdict on entering into a temporary marriage with women who are known as prostitutes and do not keep Iddah?

A: It is permissible to marry them temporarily but they must keep the Iddah; the only case which does not involve Iddah is the case of adultery.

Q1264: A man divorces his wife twice and he knows that if he marries her and divorces her for a third time, he will not be allowed to marry her again, unless he does so according to the rules mentioned in treatise of Islamic laws. Is it permissible for such a man to marry her temporarily after their second divorce and remit her marriage period?

A: What has been mentioned in treatise of Islamic laws is appertained to women who are divorced by a man for three times, and completion or remission of the period of a temporary marriage is not considered as divorce.

Q1265: Without any official registration, a person concluded a marriage between a boy and a girl five years ago. After a while, the girl felt that she disliked the husband and left him and never went back to him again. She also agreed to renounce her rights provided that the husband divorced her in return. Now, the husband has got married and he does not agree to divorce his first wife. Legally and religiously speaking, is it permissible for the Islamic judge to divorce this woman authoritatively?

A: In cases where marriage is seen as causing a woman distress and constriction which is proved to the Islamic judge, even through the oral expression of “I waive my marriage portion in return for getting divorced”, that is to renounce all her rights in order to satisfy the husband to divorce her, the Islamic judge must first advise and encourage the husband to divorce the wife, and if it does not work, the Islamic judge must compel him to divorce her; however, if due to the judge's not being powerful enough, or to the husband's not being persuaded to do so the husband refuses to divorce the wife, the Islamic judge can authoritatively divorce the woman and if she has agreed to remit her marriage portion, the Islamic judge can authoritatively accept this remission and this will be a Khula’ divorce and after getting divorced by the Islamic judge, the woman can not change her mind concerning the renouncement of her rights in order to change the divorce into a revocable kind.