An Arab lady wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and asked if there was any iddah period for a woman whose marriage dissolved before consummation. She also asked if in such a case the woman could remarry her previous husband who had divorced her irrevocably [talaq al-battah].
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 20 July 2020, gave the following reply to this question:
“There is no iddah for a woman in the case of a divorce that takes place before the consummation of marriage as the Holy Quran clearly states in this regard:
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِذَا نَكَحۡتُمُ الۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقۡتُمُوۡهُنَّ مِنۡ قَبۡلِ اَنۡ تَمَسُّوۡهُنَّ فَمَا لَكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِنَّ مِنۡ عِدَّةٍ تَعۡتَدُّوۡنَهَا ۚ فَمَتِّعُوۡهُنَّ وَ سَرِّحُوۡهُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيۡلًا
“‘O ye who believe! when you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, then you have no right against them with regard to the period of waiting that you reckon. So make some provision for them and send them away in a handsome manner. (Surah al-Ahzab, Ch.33: V.50) […].”
