الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 6, page 65

2. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammad and Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father all from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from ibn Ri’ab from Zurarah who has said the following: “Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘Divorce which is not according to Sunnah or not with waiting period does not have any valid effect.’ Zurarah has said that I then asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), ‘Please explain to me divorce according to Sunnah and divorce with waiting period.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘For divorce according to Sunnah the man must wait until she experiences Hayd (menses) and becomes clean from Hayd (menses). When this happens he can divorce her in the presence of two witnesses without going to bed with her; then he leaves her until she experiences Hayd (menses) twice and her waiting period becomes complete. On her experiencing the third Hayd (menses) she becomes stranger to him. He then is one of those who may propose marriage; if he wants he can marry or not to marry. He must pay her maintenance as long as she is in her waiting period and they inherit each other during the waiting period.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Divorce with waiting period is the divorce which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has mentioned, ‘. . . .divorce them with waiting period and keep a count of the waiting period.’ (65:2) For this kind of divorce if a man wants to divorce his wife he must wait until she experiences Hayd (menses) and become clean of Hayd (menses) then divorce her one divorce in the presence of two just witnesses without going to bed with her. He then can go back to her on the same day if he likes or after several days or before she experiences Hayd (menses). He must have a witness for his going back to her. He can go to bed with her and live with her until she experiences Hayd (menses). When she experiences Hayd (menses) and becomes clean, divorce her in the presence of witnesses without going to bed with her. He then can go back to her again anytime he likes before she experiences Hayd (menses) for the third Hayd (menses). When she becomes clean of the third Hayd (menses) he divorces her in the presence of witness for the third time without sexual intercourse. When he does this she becomes stranger to him and he cannot marry her again before she marries another man.’ He (the Imam) was asked, ‘What happens if she does not experience Hayd (menses)?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘In such case she is divorced according to Sunnah.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

3. Ibn Mahbub has narrated from ibn Bukayr from Zurarah said: “I once heard Abu Ja’far (a.s.) say, ’I love for a knowledgeable man, if he intends to divorce his wife, to do so in accordance with the Sunnah.’ He (the narrator) has said that he (the Imam) then said, ’This is that about which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has said, ’...perhaps Allah thereafter will cause something to happen.’ (65:1) It means after divorce and waiting period a marriage with him, before the advance of the case to a marriage with another man.’ He (the Imam) said, ’How just and expansive this is for them both! It is best for him to divorce her while she is in a state of purity (not during menstruation) without having engaged in intercourse during that period, to pronounce one divorce in the presence of witnesses, and then to leave her until her waiting period ends—whether three months or three menstrual cycles (qurūʾ). Thereafter, he may propose to her again as a suitor among others.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.