QUESTION: Should antipathy develop between a couple after
the Marriage Verses have been read and the dowry paid, may divorce take place
without observance of the year of patience?
ANSWER [by Baha’u’llah]: Divorce may legitimately be sought
after the reading of the Marriage Verses and payment of the dowry, but before
the consummation of the marriage. In such circumstances there is no need for
observance of a year of patience, but recovery of the dowry payment is not
permissible.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Questions and Answers’; ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
