Short answer
Yes. In Islam a divorced woman is free to marry again once her waiting period (the iddah) ends. The Qur'an forbids her family to stop her going back to her former husband. The Law of Moses also let her marry again: a divorced woman "may go and be another man's wife". The New Testament Gospels read differently. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus is reported as calling remarriage after divorce adultery. Matthew and Luke also say that whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The Catholic Church forbids a new marriage while the first spouse lives, unless a church court finds the first marriage was never valid (an annulment). On her freedom to marry again, the Qur'an stands with Moses. It says Jesus came to confirm the Law and to make lawful some of what had been forbidden. The Prophet (ﷺ) himself advised a divorced woman whom to marry.
Full explanation
What the Law of Moses allowed
Deuteronomy, a book of the Law of Moses, sets out divorce by a written bill. It then says plainly that the divorced woman may become another man's wife.
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.”
What the New Testament Gospels and Paul say
Three of the New Testament Gospels report Jesus calling remarriage after divorce adultery. Matthew allows a man to divorce for fornication (sex outside marriage). Even so, in Matthew 5:32 the man who marries the divorced woman still commits adultery. Mark and Luke give no exception at all. Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, tells a wife who has left her husband to remain unmarried or go back to him.
“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
“And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.”
“Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.”
What the churches teach
The Catholic Church holds that a marriage between baptised Christians, once completed by sex, can be ended by death alone. Its Catechism, the Church's official book of teaching, calls a new union after divorce public and permanent adultery. Many Protestant churches allow the innocent partner to remarry after adultery or desertion. They rely on Matthew's exception, as in the Westminster Confession, a Protestant statement of faith written in 1646.
Rules that a marriage that is ratified and consummated cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any cause other than death.
Calls divorce a grave offence against the natural law, and says that a divorced person who contracts a new union, even one recognised by civil law, is in a situation of public and permanent adultery.
Allows the innocent party to divorce and remarry after adultery, and allows divorce for wilful desertion that cannot be remedied; for no other cause.
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| The Law of Moses | Yes: she may become another man's wife |
| Matthew | Whoever marries her commits adultery |
| Mark and Luke | Remarriage after divorce is adultery, with no exception |
| Paul | A wife who leaves stays unmarried or goes back |
| The Catholic Church | No, while the first spouse lives |
| The Qur'an | Yes, after her waiting period, and her family may not stop her |
What the Qur'an says
The Qur'an tells husbands either to take a wife back fairly or to let her go fairly. It forbids holding her in order to harm her. Once her waiting period (the iddah) is over, her family may not stop her from marrying her former husband if they agree on fair terms. A widow too is free after her waiting period. If a couple must part for good, the Qur'an promises that Allah (﷾) will provide for each of them.
“When ye divorce women, and they fulfil the term of their ('Iddat), either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable terms; but do not take them back to injure them, (or) to take undue advantage; if any one does that; He wrongs his own soul. Do not treat Allah's Signs as a jest, but solemnly rehearse Allah's favours on you, and the fact that He sent down to you the Book and Wisdom, for your instruction. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is well acquainted with all things.”
“When ye divorce women, and they fulfil the term of their ('Iddat), do not prevent them from marrying their (former) husbands, if they mutually agree on equitable terms. This instruction is for all amongst you, who believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is (the course Making for) most virtue and purity amongst you and Allah knows, and ye know not.”
“If any of you die and leave widows behind, they shall wait concerning themselves four months and ten days: When they have fulfilled their term, there is no blame on you if they dispose of themselves in a just and reasonable manner. And Allah is well acquainted with what ye do.”
“But if they disagree (and must part), Allah will provide abundance for all from His all-reaching bounty: for Allah is He that careth for all and is Wise.”
What the Prophet (ﷺ) did
When Fatima bint Qays was divorced, the Prophet (ﷺ) asked her to tell him when her waiting period ended. He then advised her whom to marry, and she married Usama ibn Zayd. The Qur'an describes Jesus as confirming the Law and making some forbidden things lawful. That fits the Law's freedom, not a new ban.
Fatima bint Qays, whose husband had divorced her, was told by the Prophet (ﷺ) to let him know when her waiting period ended. When it did and two men proposed, he advised her to marry Usama ibn Zayd instead. She married him and said the marriage was blessed.
“"'(I have come to you), to attest the Law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was (Before) forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me.”
Verse by verse
Matthew 19:8 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 8
“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
Cited for
Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to hard hearts. Jesus restores God's plan from the beginning: one marriage for life, so a second marriage is adultery.
The response
Christians accept Deuteronomy as God's (﷾) Law, and it plainly lets the divorced woman marry again. Matthew 5:32 says the husband who sends his wife away "causeth her to commit adultery". On the Catholic reading, that leaves her barred from marrying again. The Qur'an keeps the Law's freedom and forbids a woman's family to hold her back from a fair marriage.
Where it lands — God's (﷾) own Law allowed a divorced woman to remarry. The Qur'an keeps that mercy. The sayings in the New Testament Gospels, read as the Catholic Church reads them, take it away.
Perspectives
Catholic
Marriage is for life. Jesus restored God's original plan, which Moses had relaxed, and a second marriage while the first spouse lives is adultery.
Catholic Church (canon law and Catechism)
Jesus says Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of their hearts, but from the beginning it was not so.
Rebuttal
Grant that Jesus spoke of hard hearts. The Law that let her marry again still came from God (﷾), and Jesus said he came not to destroy it. The Qur'an says he came to confirm it and to make lawful some of what had been forbidden. That does not fit a ban on what the Law allowed.
Jesus is reported as saying that whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Rebuttal
Jesus said he came not to destroy the Law. The Law lets the divorced woman marry again, and the Qur'an says Jesus came to confirm it. A reading that bars her from marrying again does not fit that.
The Catholic Church teaches that a consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power.
Rebuttal
That is the Church's own rule. The Law of Moses, which the Church accepts as God's (﷾) Law, lets the divorced woman marry again, and the Qur'an keeps that freedom.
Protestant
Divorce and remarriage are allowed in narrow cases, above all when a spouse has committed adultery or deserted the marriage.
Reformed churches (Westminster Confession) and many others
Matthew gives an exception for fornication, which Protestant churches read as allowing the innocent party to remarry.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that a divorced woman may marry again, but Matthew's exception frees only some women. The Law of Moses sets no such limit, and the Qur'an frees her once her waiting period ends.
The Islamic perspective
A divorced woman, like a widow, is free to remarry once her waiting period ends. The Prophet (ﷺ) himself advised a divorced woman whom to marry, and the Qur'an keeps the freedom that the Law of Moses gave.
The Qur'an forbids a divorced woman's family to stop her marrying her former husband again. This holds once her waiting period is over, if they agree on fair terms.
The Law of Moses says a divorced woman may become another man's wife.
The Prophet (ﷺ) advised a divorced woman to remarry and named a husband for her.
The Qur'an says Jesus confirmed the Law and made lawful part of what had been forbidden. That does not fit a new ban on what the Law allowed.
When a marriage must end, the Qur'an promises that Allah (﷾) will provide for both.