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When a revocable divorce becomes irrevocable
Question
I divorced my American wife officially on 10/3/2009 and it was registered as a revocable in the foreigners' registration office at the Egyptian Ministry of Justice. I sent her a divorce certificate and did not take her back until this day.
When does this divorce become irrevocable and final such that it is impermissible for me to take her back except with a new marriage contract and with her consent?
Answer
An irrevocable divorce means severing the marital bond completely between spouses and ending the marital relations between them such that any marital obligations such expenses, a wife's obedience to her husband in lawful matters, inheriting one another in the event of death and so forth cease to exist.
A revocable divorce becomes irrevocable if the 'idda (post divorce waiting period) ends before a husband takes back his wife. The 'idda ends after three months from the date of the divorce if the divorcée was menopausal and with delivering the baby if she was pregnant. As for the 'idda of a woman who experiences menstruation, some scholars have maintained that it is three menstrual cycles while others maintained that it is three periods of purification.
In Egypt, we follow the opinion which states that the 'idda ends after three menstrual cycles in which the first starts after divorce. This is known by the woman's asseveration.
Allah the Almighty knows best.
