Divorce (Al-Talaaq)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ O Prophet (SAW)! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah (prescribed periods), and count (accurately) their 'Iddah (periods). And fear Allah your Lord (O Muslims), and turn them not out of their (husband's) homes, nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allah. And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself. You (the one who divorces his wife) know not, it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if that was the first or second divorce). 1 And so, when they are about to reach the end of their waiting-term, either retain them in a fair manner or part with them in a fair manner. And let two persons of [known] probity from among your own community witness [what you have decided]; and do yourselves bear true witness before God: thus are admonished all who believe in God and the Last Day. And unto everyone who is conscious of God, He [always] grants a way out [of unhappiness,] 2 and He will provide for him from whence he never reckoned. And whosoever puts his trust in God, He shall suffice him. God attains his purpose. God has appointed a measure for everything. 3 Now as for such of your women as are beyond the age of monthly courses, as well as for such as do not have any courses, their waiting-period - if you have any doubt [about it] - shall be three [calendar] months; and as for those who are with child, the end of their waiting-term shall come when they deliver their burden. And for everyone who is conscious of God, He makes it easy to obey His commandment: 4 [for] all this is God's commandment, which He has bestowed upon you from on high. And unto everyone who is conscious of God will He pardon [some of] his bad deeds, and will grant him a vast reward. 5 [Hence,] let the women [who are undergoing a waiting-period] live in the same manner as you live yourselves, in accordance with your means; and do not harass them with a view to making their lives a misery. And if they happen to be with child, spend freely on them until they deliver their burden; and if they nurse your offspring [after the divorce has become final,] give them their [due] recompense; and take counsel with one another in a fair manner [about the child's future]. And if both of you find it difficult [that the mother should nurse the child,] let another woman nurse it on behalf of him [who has begotten it]. 6 Let the well-to-do people spend abundantly (for the mother and the child) and let the poor spend from what God has given them. God does not impose on any soul that which he cannot afford. God will bring about ease after hardship. 7