The Quran

230

Preface

فَإِن طَلَّقَها فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِن بَعدُ حَتّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوجًا غَيرَهُ ۗ فَإِن طَلَّقَها فَلا جُناحَ عَلَيهِما أَن يَتَراجَعا إِن ظَنّا أَن يُقيما حُدودَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَتِلكَ حُدودُ اللَّهِ يُبَيِّنُها لِقَومٍ يَعلَمونَ

Yusuf Ali

So if a husband divorces his wife (irrevocably)¹, he cannot, after that, remarry her until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her. In that case there is no blame on either of them if they reunite, provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by God. Such are the limits ordained by God, which He makes plain to those who understand.

This is in continuation of the first sentence of 2:229. Two divorces followed by reunion are permissible; the third time the divorce becomes irrevocable, until the woman marries some other man and he divorces her. This is to set an almost impossible condition. The lesson is: if a man loves a woman he should not allow a sudden gust of temper or anger to induce him to take hasty action. What happens after two divorces, if the man takes her back? See n. 261 to 2:231.