In classical Islamic law, a husband may divorce by simply announcing to his wife that he refuses to accept her (
talaq). The initial declaration of talaq is a revocable repudiation (ṭalāq rajʿah) which does not terminate the marriage. The husband can revoke the divorce at any time during the waiting period ('
iddah) which lasts three full menstrual cycles. Resumption of sexual relations automatically retracts the repudiation. The divorce becomes final when the waiting period expires. This is called a "minor" divorce (
al-baynuna al-sughra) and the couple can remarry. If the husband repudiates his wife for the third time, it triggers a "major" divorce (
al-baynuna al-kubra), after which the couple cannot remarry without an intervening consummated marriage by the wife to another man. This is known as tahlil marriage or nikah halala. Making the third pronouncement irrevocable acts as a deterrent to rash repudiations. There are
hadith indicating that entering a tahleel marriage with the intention of divorcing so that the original spouses can remarry is forbidden (haraam) in Islam. Hadith in
Abu Dawood and
Ibn Majah reported that both the first husband (muhallil) and the temporary husband (muhallil lahu) were cursed by God, and Ibn Majah calls the temporary husband "a borrowed billy-goat."
Al-Hakim Nishapuri adds that marriage should be based on genuine intentions, and that in the time of Muhammad, tahleel spouses would have been considered adulterers. ==UK==