"The people were such that a man would divorce his wife when he wanted to divorce her, and she remained his wife when he wanted to take her back while she was in her Iddah, and he could divorce a hundred times, or even more, such that a man could say to his wife: 'By Allah! I will neither divorce you irrevocably, nor give you residence ever!' She would say: 'And how is that?' He would say: 'I will divorce you, and whenever your Iddah is just about to end I will take you back. So a woman went to Aishah to inform her about that, and Aishah was silent until the Prophet came. So she told him and the Prophet was silent, until the Qur'an was revealed: Divorce is two times, after that, retain her on reasonable terms or release her with kindness.'" So Aishah said: "So the people could carry on with divorce in the future, (knowing) who was divorced, and who was not divorced."  

كَانَ النَّاسُ وَالرَّجُلُ يُطَلِّقُ امْرَأَتَهُ مَا شَاءَ أَنْ يُطَلِّقَهَا وَهِيَ امْرَأَتُهُ إِذَا ارْتَجَعَهَا وَهِيَ فِي الْعِدَّةِ وَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ أَوْ أَكْثَرَ حَتَّى قَالَ رَجُلٌ لاِمْرَأَتِهِ وَاللَّهِ لاَ أُطَلِّقُكِ فَتَبِينِي مِنِّي وَلاَ آوِيكِ أَبَدًا قَالَتْ وَكَيْفَ ذَاكَ قَالَ أُطَلِّقُكِ فَكُلَّمَا هَمَّتْ عِدَّتُكِ أَنْ تَنْقَضِيَ رَاجَعْتُكِ فَذَهَبَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ حَتَّى دَخَلَتْ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَأَخْبَرَتْهَا فَسَكَتَتْ عَائِشَةُ حَتَّى جَاءَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَأَخْبَرَتْهُ فَسَكَتَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ حَتَّى نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ ( الطَّلاَقُ مَرَّتَانِ فَإِمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍ ) قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ فَاسْتَأْنَفَ النَّاسُ الطَّلاَقَ مُسْتَقْبَلاً مَنْ كَانَ طَلَّقَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ طَلَّقَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ نَحْوَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ بِمَعْنَاهُ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ فِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ  

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said, "It used to be that a man would divorce his wife and then return to her before her idda was over, and that was alright, even if he divorced her a thousand times. The man went to his wife and then divorced her and when the end of her idda was in sight, he took her back and then divorced her and said, 'No! By Allah, I will not go to you and you will never be able to marry again.' Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, sent down, 'Divorce is twice, then honourable retention or setting free kindly.' People then turned towards divorce in a new light from that day whether or not they were divorced or not divorced."  

أَنَّهُ قَالَ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ إِذَا طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ ثُمَّ ارْتَجَعَهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْقَضِيَ عِدَّتُهَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ وَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا أَلْفَ مَرَّةٍ فَعَمَدَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى امْرَأَتِهِ فَطَلَّقَهَا حَتَّى إِذَا شَارَفَتِ انْقِضَاءَ عِدَّتِهَا رَاجَعَهَا ثُمَّ طَلَّقَهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ لاَ وَاللَّهِ لاَ آوِيكِ إِلَىَّ وَلاَ تَحِلِّينَ أَبَدًا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى الطَّلاَقُ مَرَّتَانِ فَإِمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍ فَاسْتَقْبَلَ النَّاسُ الطَّلاَقَ جَدِيدًا مِنْ يَوْمِئِذٍ مَنْ كَانَ طَلَّقَ مِنْهُمْ أَوْ لَمْ يُطَلِّقْ