Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
7. Concerning divorce
~ 157 ~
But the Qur’an makes it explicit that the parting
must above all be humane and that justice must be
done: “Provide for them with fairness; the rich man
according to his means, and the poor according to
his. This is binding on righteous men. Do not forget
to show kindness to each other... reasonable
provision should also be made for divorced women.
That is incumbent on righteous men.”
135
135. Qur’an, 2:236.
When divorce takes place before the settling of the
dowry and the consummation of the marriage, even
then the man must give the woman money or goods
as a gesture of goodwill. In this instance the
question of his repaying dowry money does not
arise. The Qur’an is also quite explicit on this —
“Believers, if you marry believing women and
divorce them before the marriage is consummated,
you have no right to require them to observe a
waiting period. Provide well for them and release
them honorably.”
136
This “waiting period” (
iddah
) actually applies to a
woman who has been married for some time and
who may, subsequent to the divorce, discover that
