Talk: “Three Strikes and She’s Out: The Origins and Expansion of a Divorce and Remarriage Stipulation in Q 2:230” by Lyall Armstrong, Alwaleed Bin Talal Director’s Series, Harvard Law School, Lewis 214, November 27, 2023 @ 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

Join us on Monday, November 27, 2023 at 12pm EST for a talk titled “Three Strikes and She’s Out: The Origins and Expansion of a Divorce and Remarriage Stipulation in Q 2:230” by Professor Lyall Armstrong.

Abstract: Q 2:230 stipulates that if a man divorces his wife three times and then wants to marry her again, she must have married and divorced another man in the intervening period in order for her to be legally licit for the previous husband. This lecture will explore the origins of this divorce ruling by evaluating its relationship to divorce and remarriage law in Late Antiquity and by analyzing the Islamic tradition purported to be the source for the ruling. The lecture will then investigate how early and medieval legal scholars approached the ruling in light of its canonization in the Qur’ān. This evaluation of Q 2:230 hopes to contribute to the expansion of our understanding of the origins and applications, even in the modern period, of Islamic law.