Paying alimony to his divorced wife

Q. Sometimes, the court forces a man to pay his divorced wife alimony (a sum of money every month). Is the man according to the law of the Shari'ah obligated to pay this amount?

R. The Shari'ah requires a man to feed and provide for his wife while she is still in his Nikah or during her period of I'ddah. Once divorced, the woman is no longer under his responsibility after her I'ddah and she can even marry another man.

After the talaaq (divorce), this woman is haraam for the 'husband', so how can it be fair to impose on the 'husband' to pay alimony to his divorced woman when she is no longer under his responsibility, is haraam for him, and he is free to marry another man, while the latter will, if he decides to contract another marriage, have to feed another woman?

[English version of "Verser à sa femme divorcée une pension alimentaire" – Al Haadi – Vol. 1 No. 3]