It is Prohibited for the Divorced Wife Who May Be Taken Back to Leave the House of Her Husband

Question :

It is observed that when the husband divorces his wife, she leaves the house immediately and spends her waiting period in the house of her family. But what we know from the Islamic Law is that the wife should spend the waiting period in the house of her husband, since it may be that he will take her back, either by words or by having sex with her. In this way, the preservation of the family results and divorce does not occur. So what is Your Eminence opinion regarding the current practice of the divorced woman immediately going to the house of her family?

Answer:

It is obligatory upon the divorced woman whose divorce is not irrevocable, who has been divorced once after consummation or seclusion, or the wife who has been divorced twice to remain in the house of her husband. Hopefully, he may take her back; and it is preferred for her to make herself attractive to him in order to encourage him to take her back, according to the Words of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful:
"O Prophet (ﷺ)! When you divorce women, divorce them at their 'Iddah (prescribed periods) and count (accurately) their 'Iddah (periods). And fear Allah your Lord (O Muslims). And turn them not out of their (husband's) homes nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allah. And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself. You (the one who divorces his wife) know not it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if that was the first or second divorce)."

This Noble Verse proves that it is not permissible for her to leave; rather, it is incumbent upon her to remain in the house of her husband and not to leave it. So that haply, Allah might afterwards bring some new thing to pass and that is to take her back.

Source:
Ibn Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 26-27