Does divorcing a women in her Nifaas count?
Question:
Does divorcing the Nufasaa’ (a woman in her post labour bleeding and what takes its ruling) count, and how will counting the ‘Iddah (waiting period) be?
Answer:
An-Nifaas, the Prophet ﷺ said:
(ِأَنُفِسْتِ؟) – “Are you menstruating? “
So he called Haidh (menstruation) Nifaas (post labour bleeding and what takes its ruling), so Nifaas is uttered meaning Haidh and Haidh is not uttered meaning Nifaas, except that the rulings are similar from the angle of not praying, no having relations, to the end of it.
Therefore divorcing the Nufasaa’ counts, like divorcing the Haa’idh (menstruating), for the Prophet ﷺ counted it upon Abdillaah bin ‘Umar when he divorced his wife during the state of her period.
There occurred some differing in the issue, this is the closest to the truth.
As for the Nufasaa’ then verily she counts from the time her husband divorced her, and her ‘Iddah doesn’t end except with three periods.
(وَٱلْمُطَلَّقَٰتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهِنَّ ثَلَٰثَةَ قُرُوٓءٍۚ)
“And divorced women shall wait (as regards their marriage) for three menstrual periods.” [Al-Baqarah: 228]
Even if her term was prolonged, and she remains breastfeeding her child two whole years, and many a time you find while a woman in a state of breastfeeding (that) she doesn’t menstruate, so her ‘Iddah remains unfinished until she has three menstrual cycles.
For what is correct is that Aqraa’ is Haidh,
دَعِي الصلاةَ أيَّامَ أقرائِكِ
“Refrain from Salaah during the days of your menstruation.”
She doesn’t refrain the days of her purification rather its the days of her menstruation.
And when she has three Haidh her ‘Iddah finishes with the last Haidh she completes, not by the last Haidh she begins with, rather that she completes from it due to the evidence mentioned.
Answered by: Shaykh, the Allamah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu Abdirrahman Yahya bin Ali Al-Hajuri – may Allah preserve him
Source: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/8178
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi