It has been narrated from the Imams (peace be upon them) that talaq al-sunnah (divorce according to the prescribed method) is that when a man intends to divorce his wife, he waits until she menstruates and then becomes pure. He should then divorce her before engaging in intimacy during her waiting period, in the presence of two just witnesses, in a single sitting, and with a single utterance. If he testifies before one man and later before another, such a divorce is not valid unless both witnesses are present together in the same session. If she completes three periods of purity, she is then separated from him, and he becomes like any other suitor. The choice is hers - if she wishes, she may remarry him, and if she does not, she is free not to do so. If he wishes to remarry her, he must do so with a new dowry. If he later wishes to divorce her again, he must do so according to the sunnah, as described. If he divorces her in the prescribed manner, it remains permissible for him to remarry her thereafter. This type of divorce is referred to as talaq al-hadm (divorce of annulment), meaning that if she completes her waiting period and he remarries her, the previous divorce is annulled. Any divorce that does not conform to the prescribed sunnah is invalid. If a man divorces his wife according to the sunnah, he has the right to take her back as long as her waiting period has not ended. Once the waiting period ends, she is separated from him, and he becomes like any other suitor. The testimony of women alone is not acceptable in matters of divorce. The husband who divorces according to the sunnah is responsible for the financial maintenance and housing of his wife as long as she is in her waiting period. They also continue to inherit from one another until the waiting period concludes.