Women Whose Hayd (menses) is Confusing

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about the case of a man who marries a woman secretly in the house of her family. He wants to divorce her but cannot reach her to know about her Hayd (menses) and does not know when she becomes clean of Hayd (menses). He (the Imam) said, ‘This is like the case of a husband who is absent who divorces by counting new moon and months.’ I then asked, ‘What happens if he is able to reach her at certain times to find out about her Hayd (menses): how he should divorce her?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘When a month, during which he is not able to reach her, passes he can divorce her when he finds himself in the beginning of the next month. He must write down about the month in which he has divorced and arrange for two men as witnesses. When three months pass she becomes stranger to him and he becomes one of those who can propose marriage. He, however, must pay her expenses for the three months in which she counted the waiting period.’”