Can he take his wife back after her ‘iddah has ended?
Question

                Can a man and a woman go back together if they have been seperated for a long time.They were husband and wife.
Praise be to Allah. 
          If a man divorces his wife with the first or second talaaq, 
          once her ‘iddah is over she is divorced and becomes a “stranger” (non-mahram) 
          to him; she cannot go back to him except with a new marriage contract 
          which fulfils all the conditions set out in sharee’ah (see Question 
          no. 2127). 
 
          But if he divorces his wife with the third talaaq, then 
          she becomes haraam to her first husband until she has married a second 
          husband in a genuine marriage which is consummated. The Qur’aanic evidence 
          for that is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): 
 
          “The divorce is twice, after that, either you retain 
          her on reasonable terms or release her with kindness…
 
          And if he has divorced her (the third time), then 
          she is not lawful unto him thereafter until she has married another 
          husband”
 
          [al-Baqarah 2:229-230]
 
           The last divorce refers to the third divorce, according 
          to all the scholars. 
 
          The evidence from the Sunnah is the hadeeth narrated 
          by ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, according to which ‘Aa’ishah told him that 
          the wife of Rifaa’ah al-Qurazi came to the Messenger of Allaah 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of 
          Allaah, Rifaa’ah divorced me thrice, then I was married to ‘Abd al-Rahmaan 
          ibn al-Zubayr al-Qurazi, but he has nothing with him except something 
          like this fringe. The Messenger of Allaah 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Perhaps you want 
          to go back to Rifaa’ah? No, (it is not possible), unless and until you 
          enjoy the sexual relation with him (‘Abd al-Rahmaan), and he enjoys 
          the sexual relation with you.” 
 
          (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4856; Muslim, 2587) 
 
          The phrase “divorced me three times” means that this 
          was the divorce which meant that she was no longer married to him, which 
          is the third talaaq. The Prophet’s words “until you enjoy the sexual 
          relation with him (‘Abd al-Rahmaan), and he enjoys the sexual relation 
          with you” refer to intercourse. 
 
          Al-Nawawi said: “This hadeeth indicates that the woman who has been 
          divorced by a third talaaq is not permissible to the man who has divorced 
          her until she has been married by another husband, who has intercourse 
          with her then separates from her, and she completes her ‘iddah. Merely 
          drawing up the marriage contract with her does not make her permissible 
          to the first husband. This is the view of all the scholars among the 
          Sahaabah, Taabi’een and those who came after them. 
 
          Sharh Muslim, 10/3 
 
          And Allaah knows bets. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.