How is the 'iddah calculated if divorce occurs during a period of purity (*tuhur*) and the husband had intercourse during that time?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Waiting Periods ('Iddah)
Primary text
If the husband had intercourse during the period of purity, the remaining portion of that purity period is not counted as part of the 'iddah. This is analogous to the time of menstruation, which is a prohibited time for divorce and therefore not counted in the 'iddah. The prohibition of divorce during menstruation is to prevent lengthening the 'iddah for the woman. If the remaining purity time were not counted, divorce during purity would be more harmful and longer for her, negating the purpose of the prohibition.
Supporting text
Abu 'Ubayd argued that if intercourse occurred during purity, the remainder is not counted because it is a time when divorce is prohibited, similar to menstruation. This argument is rejected because the prohibition of divorce during menstruation is specifically due to the non-counting of the remainder, making the reason for non-counting the prohibition itself, which results in circular reasoning (the effect being the cause of itself). The prohibition of divorce during the purity period where intercourse occurred is due to doubt and fear of concealed pregnancy.