servants and His handmaids should be at peace with one another; take heed
lest ye do aught that may provoke intransigence amongst you. Thus hath the
decree been fixed and the promise come to pass. If, however, news should
reach her of her husband’s death or murder, and be confirmed by general
report, or by the testimony of two just witnesses, it behoveth her to
remain single; then, upon completion of the fixed number of months, she is
free to adopt the course of her choosing. Such is the bidding of Him Who
is mighty and powerful in His command.

68 Should resentment or antipathy arise between husband and wife, he is
not to divorce her but to bide in patience throughout the course of one
whole year, that perchance the fragrance of affection may be renewed
between them. If, upon the completion of this period, their love hath not
returned, it is permissible for divorce to take place. God’s wisdom,
verily, hath encompassed all things. The Lord hath prohibited, in a Tablet
inscribed by the Pen of His command, the practice to which ye formerly had
recourse when thrice ye had divorced a woman. This He hath done as a
favour on His part, that ye may be accounted among the thankful. He who
hath divorced his wife may choose, upon the passing of each month, to
remarry her when there is mutual affection and consent, so long as she
hath not taken another husband. Should she have wed again, then, by this
other union, the separation is confirmed and the matter is concluded
unless, clearly, her circumstances change. Thus hath the decree been
inscribed with majesty in this glorious Tablet by Him Who is the
Dawning-place of Beauty.

69 If the wife accompany her husband on a journey, and differences arise
between them on the way, he is required to provide her with her expenses
for one whole year, and either to return her whence she came or to entrust
her, together with the necessaries for her journey, to a dependable person