Hadith 3366

(3) The statement: "The divorce of a slave woman is two divorces"—This means, according to us, the divorce of a slave woman is two, whether her husband is free or a slave. The divorce of a free woman is three, whether her husband is free or a slave. Ash-Shafi’i said: "The number of divorces depends on the status of the men, based on the verse: 'Divorce is twice...' (2:229)." Our evidence is this hadith, and the interpretation of what Ash-Shafi’i cited is that the execution is related to the men, as mentioned in Al-Hidayah.

(4) The statement: "Her waiting period is two menstrual cycles"—Al-Hidayah states: "If she is a slave, her waiting period is two menstrual cycles, based on this hadith. This is because slavery reduces the waiting period by half, and a menstrual cycle cannot be divided, so it is completed as two cycles." ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) alluded to this by saying, "If I could, I would have made it one and a half cycles." Al-Maraqi states: "The apparent meaning of the hadith indicates that the waiting period is based on the woman’s status, not the freedom or slavery of the husband, as is our view. It also shows that the waiting period is based on menstruation."