I officially divorced my American wife on 10 March 2009. The divorce was documented as revocable at the Foreigners’ Marriage Office of the Egyptian Ministry of Justice. I sent my former wife the document certifying the divorce. I have not taken her back to date. When does the divorce become irrevocable and final, such that I cannot take her back except with a new marriage contract and her consent?

An irrevocable divorce completely severs the marital bond and terminates the marital relationship between the woman and her former husband. As a result, no marital rights or obligations remain between them, including the husband’s obligation to provide for her, the wife’s obligation to obey her husband in what is right, their mutual right of inheritance should either of them die, and so forth.

A revocable divorce becomes irrevocable when the divorcée’s ‘iddah (waiting period) expires without the husband taking her back. The ‘iddah of a menopausal woman expires three months after the divorce, while that of a pregnant woman expires upon childbirth. The ‘iddah of a woman who experiences menstruation ends after three menstrual cycles according to some scholars, whereas others maintain that it ends after three periods of purity between menstruations. The opinion followed in Egypt is that the post-divorce ‘iddah expires upon the completion of three menstruations, provided that the beginning of the first menstrual cycle begins after the divorce. This is established based on the divorcée’s own statement.

And Allah Almighty knows best.