Surah At-Talaq: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

O Prophet! If you decide definitively to divorce women, observe the waiting period (iddah) set for them, keep careful count of it, and do not forget that you are responsible to Allah in this. Do not put them out of your homes before that period is over, and let them not leave their homes during this period.

Unless they have committed an open indecency, do not force women into divorce. These are the rulings Allah has laid down. Whoever does not abide by Allah’s rulings has wronged himself and done himself harm. You cannot know; perhaps Allah may make this period the means of opening a door to good, and of a return to one another.

When the end of their waiting period is reached, either continue your marriage with them or part from them graciously. In that case take as witnesses two people from among you whom you trust and believe to be just. And let the witnesses, guarding the rights of both sides, give their testimony justly, for Allah’s sake. These are the limits Allah has set for those who wish to live by the rulings and morality of the order of Islam. Allah always shows a way out to those who scrupulously fulfill their responsibilities toward Him, and opens doors of provision for them from where they least expect. Whoever believes in and trusts Allah wholeheartedly, Allah is enough for him.

This is a certain truth: Allah never goes back on His promise. Allah has set a measure for everything and laid down a law.

If you have any doubt or hesitation about the waiting period of women who have ceased to menstruate, or who do not menstruate because of an illness, know that their waiting period is three months; and the waiting period of pregnant women lasts until they give birth. Allah grants ease in obeying His commands to those who act with a sense of responsibility toward Him.

These are the laws He has set for those who submit to Allah. Whoever is wholeheartedly mindful and conscious in keeping His laws, Allah will cover his sins, and for him there is a great reward.

Until their waiting period is over, house the women you have divorced in part of your home; provide for their keep without pressuring, harassing, or reproaching them, and avoid conduct that would drive them to leave the house. If they are pregnant, be all the more generous and considerate until they give birth. After the divorce becomes final, if they nurse your child, give them their wages for nursing according to what is fair and customary; if you cannot agree on this, find a wet nurse, the father paying her wage.

Let the rich person of ample means give maintenance to his former wife and child according to his means, and let the one whose means are limited give their maintenance according to his means.

Allah holds everyone responsible according to their means, and after every hardship and straitness He grants ease and relief.

Allah has punished with a severe punishment many communities that turned away from the way of life to which they were invited. So they met in the world what they deserved. And in the Hereafter a very severe punishment has been prepared for them.

So, O believers! Submit wholeheartedly to the Islamic order of life. Know the worth of the Prophet and the Book Allah has sent you to counsel and warn you.

Allah has also sent you a prophet who shows the application of the Quran in your individual, family, and social life. And he guides the believers, through Allah’s verses, to bring them out of the darkness of shirk and disbelief into the light. Whoever believes in what Allah makes known through the Quran and fulfills what faith requires, Allah will settle him in His Paradise, through which rivers flow, to remain forever, and reward him with the finest provision.

Allah has created the seven heavens in layers and seven layers of the earth in perfect form. Through the order He has established and the laws He has laid down, He governs all that is within them and between them. Surely Allah’s knowledge is most exalted, and He has power over everything.