"Divorced women shall wait by themselves for three menstrual cycles, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs" [Baqarah 2:228]. This was because when a man divorced his wife, he had the greater right to take her back, even if he had divorced her three times. Then that was abrogated, and Allah said, "Divorce is twice" [Baqarah 2:229].
{والمطلقات يتربصن بأنفسهن ثلاثة قروء ولا يحل لهن أن يكتمن ما خلق الله في أرحامهن} [البقرة: ٢٢٨] وذلك أن الرجل كان إذا طلق امرأته فهو أحق برجعتها وإن طلقها ثلاثا، فنسخ ذلك فقال: {الطلق مرتان} [البقرة: ٢٢٩].
Abu Dawud (2195) narrated it, and from his route Bayhaqi (7/337) and Nasai (3554) also narrated it, from the hadith of Ali bin Husayn bin Waqid, from his father, from Yazid Nahwi, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, and he mentioned it. Its chain is hasan because of the mild criticism directed at Ali bin Husayn and his father.On this subject there is also what was narrated from Ayesha, who said, people used to behave such that a man could divorce his wife as many times as he wished, and she remained his wife as long as he took her back while she was still in her waiting period, even if he divorced her a hundred times or more, until a man said to his wife, "By Allah, I will not divorce you so that you become separated from me, nor will I ever house you properly." She said, "How is that?" He said, "I will divorce you, and whenever your waiting period is about to end, I will take you back." So the woman went and came to Ayesha and told her about it. Ayesha remained silent until the Prophet ﷺ came, and she told him, and the Prophet ﷺ remained silent until the Quran was revealed, "Divorce is twice, then either retain her in an acceptable manner or release her with kindness" [Baqarah 2:229]. Ayesha said, so people started the practice of divorce afresh, whether they had already divorced or had not yet divorced.Tirmidhi (1192) narrated it from Qutayba bin Saeed, who said, Yaala bin Shabib narrated to us, from Hisham bin Urwa, from his father, from Ayesha, and he mentioned it. In this chain is Yaala bin Shabib Makki, whom no one declared reliable except Ibn Hibban, so he is majhul (unknown), or "acceptable" according to Ibn Hajar, except that Ibn Hajar said in Taqrib that he is "lenient in hadith."Abdullah bin Idris contradicted him by narrating from Hisham bin Urwa, from his father, a similar hadith in meaning, without mentioning "from Ayesha" in it. Tirmidhi reported this right after and said, "This is more sahih than the hadith of Yaala bin Shabib."As for Hakim, he narrated it in Mustadrak (2/279) through another route from Yaala bin Shabib and said, "This is a hadith sahih in chain, and no one has criticized Yaqub bin Humayd bin Kasib with any valid argument." Dhahabi responded to this, saying, "More than one scholar has declared him daif." I say, there is also another defect in it, namely that Yaala bin Shabib is majhul, as already mentioned.