If a husband divorces his wife before consummation following a revocable divorce and subsequent reconciliation, must she begin a new waiting period or continue the first one?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Waiting Periods ('Iddah)
Primary text
There are two established narrations (rawayatayn) regarding this situation. The first narration holds that she must start a new waiting period because the reconciliation removed the lingering effect of the first divorce, returning her to the original marriage, thus making the second divorce one following a marriage that included consummation. The second narration states she builds upon the first period, reasoning that reconciliation does not add more than a new marriage contract; if he married her and divorced her before consummation, she would not owe a waiting period for that divorce, and the same applies to reconciliation.