THE COMMON ANCIENT DOCTRINE 215

Offer of divorce. If the husband offers his wife a divorce by delegating to her his power of repudiation and the wife chooses to remain with her husband, the offer does not count as one of the three divorces by repudiation to which the husband is entitled. This was the common ancient doctrine in Hijaz and in Iraq.¹ By a formalistic reasoning, however, some Iraqians regarded the offer of divorce as one revocable repudiation, and projected this doctrine back to 'Alī.² But this suggestion was not successful,³ and it was countered by traditions connected with 'Ā'isha: in Hijaz in the form of a remark additional to an anecdote on 'Ā'isha's interference in matters of marriage,⁴ in Iraq in the form of 'Ā'isha's comment on Koran xxxiii. 28 f., a passage which orders the Prophet to offer the choice of a repudiation to his own wives.⁵

Oath of abstinence (īlā'). The ancient Arab oath of abstinence from marital intercourse was regulated by Koran ii. 226 f. The common ancient doctrine interpreted this passage as meaning that the oath of abstinence, if kept, produced a divorce automatically at the end of four months. This remained the constant doctrine of the Iraqians and was projected back to Ibn Mas'ūd and other ancient authorities. In Hijaz, it was ascribed to Zuhrī, Ibn Musaiyib, Abū Bakr b. 'Abdalraḥmān, and others.⁶

At a later stage, however, following a more literal and narrow interpretation of the Koranic passage, the doctrine prevailed in Hijaz that the husband at the end of four months was to be given the choice either of breaking the oath and expiating it, or of repudiating his wife. This was the doctrine of the Medinese in the time of Mālik; the earliest reference to it which is possibly historical, ascribes it to Abul-Zubair Makkī.⁷ But the traditions to the same effect in the Muwaṭṭa', from Ibn 'Umar (through Nāfi') and from 'Alī, are certainly spurious.

The tradition from 'Alī exists also with isnāds composed of Iraqian traditionists; this represents an unsuccessful effort by the Iraqian opposition to change the doctrine of the school.⁸ Shaibānī countered the later Hijazi opinion by remarking that