سنن نسائی · Hadith 3589

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, regarding Aflah’s saying: “Whatever a Verse do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it.” and “And when We change a Verse in place of another — and Allah knows best what He sends down” (Al-Nahl :0) and “Allah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book.” The first thing that was abrogated in the Qur’an was the Qiblah. And He said: “And divorced women shall wait (as regards their marriage) for three menstrual periods, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day.” “And their husbands have better right to take them back in that period, if they wish for reconciliation.” — that is because when a man divorced his wife, he had more right to take her back, even if he had divorced her three times. Then (Allah) abrogated that and said: “The divorce is twice, after that, either you retain her on reasonable terms or release her with kindness.” (Hasan)

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020