temporary separation during its initial stages, and by making the parties live together, every chance is afforded to them to re-establish conjugal relations. Even after the period of waiting has passed away, the two parties are allowed, even encouraged, to remarry: “And when you have divorced women and they have ended their term of waiting, prevent them not from marrying their husbands, if they agree among themselves, in a lawful manner. With this is admonished he among you who believes in Allāh and the Last Day. This is more profitable and purer for you. And Allāh knows while you do not know” (2:232). Remarriage of the divorced parties is thus encouraged and recommended as being more profitable and purer for the parties. The condition is also laid down that such a revocable divorce, allowing reunion of the parties, can be pronounced twice: “Divorce may be pronounced twice: then keep them in good fellowship or let them go with kindness” (2:229). Thus the revocable divorce, the ṭalāq raj‘ī in the terminology of the jurists, can be pronounced twice.

Irrevocable divorce

After the first divorce, the parties have the right to reassert their conjugal relations within the period of waiting, or to remarry after the waiting period is over. A similar right is given to them after a second divorce, but not after a third. Before Islām, however, while the wife had no right of divorce, the husband had an unchecked licence to divorce the wife and to reassert his conjugal rights during ‘iddah as many times as he pleased (Rz. II, p. 372). Thus women were looked upon as mere chattel which could be discarded and taken at will. This had demoralized the whole institution of marriage. Islām not only gave the wife a right of divorce but also checked the husband’s licence to divorce as often as he liked, by declaring that revocable divorce could be given only twice: “Divorce may be pronounced twice: then keep them in good fellowship or let them go with kindness” (2:229). It was thus laid down that, after the second revocation or remarriage, the parties must make their choice either to live together as husband and wife forever, or to separate forever, never thinking of reunion. Hence if even the second experiment failed and the parties were separated by a divorce