Divorce (Al-Talaaq)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ O PROPHET WHEN you divorce women, divorce them at their appointed period, and calculate that period, and fear God, your Lord. Do not expel them from their houses, nor should they go away themselves, unless they are openly guilty of adultery. These are the limits set by God. Any one who exceeds the limits set by God sins against his own self. You never know that God may perchance lead to a new situation after this. 1 When their waiting period is about to end, keep them or separate from them lawfully. Let two just people witness the divorce and let them bear witness for the sake of God. Thus does God command those who have faith in Him and the Day of Judgment. God will make a way (out of difficulty) for one who has fear of Him. 2 and God will provide for him from an unexpected source; God suffices for anyone who puts his trust in Him. God will surely bring about what He decrees. He has set a measure for all things. 3 In the case of those of your wives who have passed the age of menstruation, if you have any doubt, know that their waiting period is three months; and that will apply likewise to those who have not yet menstruated; the waiting period of those who are pregnant will be until they deliver their burden [give birth]. God makes things easy for those who are mindful of Him. 4 This is the commandment of God that is sent down to you. God will forgive the ills of those who fear Him, and increase their reward. 5 [Hence,] let the women [who are undergoing a waiting-period] live in the same manner as you live yourselves, in accordance with your means; and do not harass them with a view to making their lives a misery. And if they happen to be with child, spend freely on them until they deliver their burden; and if they nurse your offspring [after the divorce has become final,] give them their [due] recompense; and take counsel with one another in a fair manner [about the child's future]. And if both of you find it difficult [that the mother should nurse the child,] let another woman nurse it on behalf of him [who has begotten it]. 6 Let the rich man spend according to his means, and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allah has given him. Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him. Allah will grant after hardship, ease. 7