The revocably-divorced woman should not observe ‘iddah in her family’s house except in cases of necessity

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

If the court has issued a verdict of divorce because of the
harm done to you, and one revocable talaaq has been issued to you, as you
say, then this is talaaq and not khula‘, and the ruling is not affected by
the fact that you are the one who asked for divorce.

Secondly:

The basic principle is that the divorced woman should observe
‘iddah in her husband’s house, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“O Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)! When
you divorce women, divorce them at their ‘Iddah (prescribed periods), and
count (accurately) their ‘Iddah (periods ). And fear Allah your Lord (O
Muslims), and turn them not out of their (husbands’) homes, nor shall they
(themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal
sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allah. And whosoever
transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself.
You (the one who divorces his wife) know not, it may be that Allah will
afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if
that was the first or second divorce)”

[at-Talaaq 65:1].

But if she is afraid that by observing ‘iddah in her
husband’s house she will definitely be subjected to harm, it is permissible
for her to observe ‘iddah in her family’s home.

Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“and turn them not out of their (husbands’) homes”
means: the husband does not have the right to turn her out of the marital
home so long as she is still observing ‘iddah, and it is not permissible for
her either to leave, because of the husband’s rights, except in the case of
clear necessity. If she leaves, she is sinning, but the ‘iddah is not
interrupted. This applies equally to both revocably and irrevocably divorced
women, and is ordained in order to protect the man’s sperm [from being
confused with that of a subsequent husband, if the woman were to remarry
soon and pregnant]. End quote.

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (20/224):
With regard to the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): “and turn them not out of their
(husbands’) homes, nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they
are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse” [at-Talaaq 65:1], if
the woman leaves without her husband asking her to leave, whether by hinting
or a clear request, and without the husband’s permission, what is the ruling
on that? The talaaq is complete and all that remains is the ‘iddah.

Answer:

The woman in ‘iddah following a revocable talaaq is sinning
if she leaves the husband’s house without him asking her to leave, unless
she left because of necessity or need which made it permissible for her to
do that. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The
woman who has been revocably divorced must remain in her husband’s house,
and it is haraam for her husband to turn her out of the house because Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “and turn them
not out of their (husbands’) homes, nor shall they (themselves) leave,
except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And
those are the set limits of Allah. And whosoever transgresses the set limits
of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself” [at-Talaaq 65:1]. What the
people do nowadays, whereby if a woman is revocably divorced she goes
immediately to her family’s home, is wrong and is haraam, because Allah says
“and turn them not out… nor shall they (themselves) leave”, and He
made no exceptions from that, unless she has committed open illegal sexual
intercourse, then He says after that: “And those are the set limits of
Allah. And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he
has wronged himself” [at-Talaaq 65:1]. Then He explains the wisdom
behind obliging her to remain in her husband’s house, as He says: You
(the one who divorces his wife) know not, it may be that Allah will
afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if
that was the first or second divorce)” [at-Talaaq 65:1].

The Muslims must pay attention to the limits set by Allah and
adhere to what Allah has enjoined upon them, and they should not take
traditions and customs as a means of going against the injunctions of
sharee‘ah.

The point is that we must pay attention to this matter and
remember that the woman who is

revocably divorced is obliged to remain in her husband’s house until
the end of her ‘iddah. In this case, whilst she is staying in her husband’s
house, she may uncover herself in front of him, adorn herself, beautify
herself, put on perfume, speak to him, and he may speak to her, and she may
sit with him and do everything except intimacy or intercourse, which may
only take place in the case of him taking her back. He may take her back
verbally, so he may say, “I am taking back my wife”, or he may take her back
by his actions, by having intercourse with her, with the intention of taking
her back. End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah.

We have stated that this moving of the woman from her
husband’s home, during her ‘iddah, even though it is prohibited in
principle, it may be permitted in the case of necessity or if there is a
reason which dictates that she should leave the marital home.

Abu’l-Waleed al-Baaji (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Al-Qaadi Abu Muhammad said: If there is a great deal of such
misconduct and trouble between them, and there is no hope of them
reconciling, then the woman may move to some other abode.

Then he said, after referring to some of what had been said
about the reasons why a woman may move from her husband’s home:

All of these opinions indicate that it is not permissible for
her to move without good reason, although they differed as to the definition
of such reasons. And Allah knows best and is most wise.

End quote from al-Muntaqa Sharh al-Muwatta’.

Based on that, if you are afraid that your husband will beat
you and harm you if you observe your ‘iddah in his house, then it is
permissible for you to observe ‘iddah in your family’s home.

And Allah knows best.