It is not forbidden for a woman during the `Iddah of a revocable divorce to wear adornment, perfume, jewellery and other things that are forbidden to the woman who is observing `Iddah after the death of her husband. Rather, what is forbidden to her is going out of her husband’s house. Going out with men and speaking to them is forbidden in all cases.

If the husband writes a message to his wife saying “You are divorced,” whether that is via a mobile phone or on a piece of paper or via email, then it depends on his intention. If he was determined to divorce her, then it counts as a divorce, but if he wrote that without the intention of divorce, then it does not count as a divorce.

The majority of scholars are of the view that divorce in jest counts as divorce. They quoted the Hadith which reads: (There are three matters in which seriousness is serious and joking is serious: marriage, divorce and taking back (one’s wife).)

The Hadith which reads: ‘Do not issue divorce, for the Throne shakes because of divorce’ is a fabricated and false Hadith. The fact that the Hadith is inauthentic does not mean that divorce is permissible and is not disliked by Allah.

The jurists differed as to whether the divorce of a menstruating woman counts as such or not. The majority are of the view that it does count as such, but there is a group of scholars who say that it does not, and this is the view reflected in the Fatwas of many contemporary jurists such as Shaykh Ibn Baz.