Where should the woman who has been thrice divorced spend her ‘iddah?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

If a man has divorced his wife irrevocably, she is not
entitled to any maintenance or accommodation during the ‘iddah, unless she
is pregnant. Irrevocable divorce is of two types:

1. Minor irrevocable divorce, which is when the woman is
divorced before consummation of the marriage, and divorce in return for
compensation (meaning: in return for money taken by the husband).

2. Major irrevocable divorce, which means completion of three
divorces (talaqaat).

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a man
divorces his wife in such a way that has no right to take her back, then she
is not entitled to accommodation or maintenance, unless she is pregnant.

In general, if a man divorces his wife irrevocably, either by
a third divorce (talaaq), or khula’, or an annulment, and she is pregnant,
then she is entitled to maintenance and accommodation, according to
scholarly consensus, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Lodge them (the divorced women) where you dwell,
according to your means, and do not harm them so as to straiten them (that
they be obliged to leave your house). And if they are pregnant, then spend
on them till they lay down their burden”

[al-Talaaq 65:6].

According to some reports of Faatimah bint Qays, “You are not
entitled to any maintenance unless you are pregnant.” and because the
pregnancy is his child, so he is obliged to spend on it, and he cannot spend
on him (the fetus) except by spending on her, so it is obligatory, just as
it is obligatory to pay for the costs of breastfeeding.

But if she is not pregnant, then there is no maintenance for
her.

With regard to accommodation, there are two reports, one of
which is that she is entitled to that. This is the view of ‘Umar and his
son, and Ibn Mas’ood, ‘Aa’ishah, the seven fuqaha’ of Madeenah, Maalik and
al-Shaafa’i, because of the verse quoted above.

The second report says that she is not entitled to
accommodation or maintenance, and this is the prevalent view of the madhhab,
and it is the view of ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Abbaas, Jaabir, ‘Ata’, Tawoos, al-Hasan,
Ikrimah, Maymoon ibn Mahraan, Ishaaq, Abu Thawr and Dawood.

Most of the Iraqi fuqaha’ said that she has the right to
accommodation and maintenance. This is the view of Ibn Shubrumah, Ibn Abi
Layla, al-Thawri, al-Hasan ibn Saalih, Abu Haneefah and his companions,
al-Batti and al-‘Anbari. End quote from al-Mughni (8/185).

The evidence that the irrevocably divorced woman is not
entitled to maintenance or accommodation is the report narrated by Muslim
(1480) from al-Sha’bi who said: I entered upon Faatimah bint Qays and asked
her about the judgement that the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him) passed concerning her, and she said that her husband
divorced her irrevocably, and she said: I referred my dispute with him
concerning accommodation and maintenance to the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him), and he did not give me any
accommodation or maintenance, and he told me to observe my ‘iddah in the
house of Ibn Umm Maktoom.

According to another report also narrated by Muslim, she
said: I mentioned that to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him) and he said: “There is no maintenance or accommodation
for you.”

According to a report narrated by Abu Dawood, “There is no
maintenance for you unless you are pregnant.”

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: But
with regard to evidence and what is binding thereof, the view of Ahmad bin
Hanbal and those who followed him is more sound and more correct, because if
it were obligatory for her to stay in her husband’s house and was something
ordained by Allaah, then Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah
be upon him) would have obliged her to do that and would not have made her
leave her husband’s house to go to the house of Umm Shareek, or to the house
of Ibn Umm Maktoom. As it is proven that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him) said to Faatimah bint Qays, who had been irrevocably
divorced: “There is no accommodation or maintenance for you; rather
accommodation and maintenance are for the one who may be taken back,” then
what can contradict that? Can it be contradicted except by a similar report
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him), who was the
one who explained what Allaah meant in His Book? And nothing of that nature
has been reported from him (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him). It
is well known that he knew better than anyone else about the interpretation
of the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Lodge them (the
divorced women) where you dwell”. End quote from al-Tamheed
(19/151).

If the husband allows her to stay in his house during the
‘iddah, then there is nothing wrong with her staying there, on condition
that she observe hijab before him, because by virtue of the irrevocable
divorce he has become a stranger to her. But it is better for her to observe
the ‘iddah in her family’s house, so as to close the door to fitnah, as
mentioned in the question, because the shaytaan may make her appear
attractive to him, and make him appear attractive to her, until they do a
haraam action, when before that the shaytaan strove hard to make them
unattractive to one another until the threefold divorce took place:
“Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see)” [al-Hashr 59:2].

Secondly:

For an irrevocably divorced woman to embrace her former
husband is a haraam action, as was what happened after that of touching him
and so on. What they must do is repent to Allaah and regret this evil
action. It is no secret that with the third divorce, they became
strangers(non-mahrams) to one another, so it is not permissible to look or
touch, let alone the embracing and what you mentioned. It is not permissible
for him to go back to her until she has married another husband, in a
genuine marriage, and not a marriage of convenience aimed at making her
permissible for the first husband, then he (the second husband) dies or
leaves her.

See also question number
14038.

And Allaah knows best.