Woman being informed that she was divorced a few months ago

Q: A woman got divorced few months back yet she only found out recently after the +/- 3 month period of iddat had passed. Does she have to sit in iddat now when she found out? Or is the iddat already over?

A: If her husband had given her talaaq and she was only informed of it after a long while (approximately three months), then if three menstrual cycles had passed from the time he divorced her, and she was not staying with him during this period, then her iddat has terminated and she is no longer in his nikaah. However, if they were staying together, or he met her during the period of three menstrual cycles and touched her with lust, or kissed her or he had relations with her, then through these actions, he had revoked the talaaq and she is still in his nikaah.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)