Fatawa
by Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani
Question: After a man issues a divorce
to his wife, is it ever possible for them
to live together again? If so, would a
new nikah be required?
Answer: The rulings of divorce are
dependent on the words used to issue
the divorce. Therefore, without knowing
the exact words used in a case of
divorce, it would not be possible to
conclude what its subsequent rulings
would be. However, we will outline
some general principles of divorce below:
Divorces are of two types:
1. revocable
2. Irrevocable
A divorce issued in explicit words, such
as ‘I divorce you’ or ‘you are divorced,’
warrants a revocable divorce regardless
of intent. Whereas, a divorce issued
with ambiguous words and phrases,
such as ‘pack your bags and get out’
or ‘go live with your parents,’ warrants
an irrevocable divorce only when pronounced
with the intention of divorce.
If one merely uttered ambiguous
wording without the intention of divorce,
this will not constitute a divorce.
Thus, if the divorces issued were revocable,
the husband may revoke his divorce
within the idda period by merely
calling his wife back or living together
as husband and wife again. However,
if the idda period has finished or
the divorces issued were irrevocable,
the husband and wife must renew
their nikah again if they wish to continue
living together.
Lastly, it should also be borne in mind
that the husband is only permitted to
offer a total of three divorces. After
issuing a total of three divorces to his
wife, irrespective of whether they were
revocable, irrevocable, pronounced
separately or together, the husband
may no longer live with her.
Question: I was upset at my wife and left
home for some time. While I was away,
I was thinking about what occurred and
texted her on WhatsApp the message,
“I have divorced you.” However, before
she had a chance to read it, I deleted it
right away. Did the divorce occur?
Answer: In principle, a divorce occurs
immediately upon being issued
whether in verbal or written form. It
is not necessary for the wife to hear or
read the divorce for it to be considered
valid. Consequently, in the aforementioned
scenario one revocable divorce
would have occurred.
Question: During an argument with my
wife, I told her she is haram upon me.
Does this count as a divorce?
Answer: The aforementioned statement
would constitute an irrevocable
divorce.
Question: My husband and I were married
for 20 years. When we married, my
husband stipulated a mehr of $50,000.
I never asked for this money but never
explicitly forgave it either. We recently
got divorced and I demanded my mehr
but he says he is no longer responsible
to pay me my mehr since our marriage
is no longer intact. Is this correct?
Answer: In principle, mehr becomes
fully binding after the consummation
of marriage. Thereafter, if the husband
divorces his wife, the mehr would remain
outstanding and the husband
would be required to pay it. However,
if the divorce took place before consummation
of the marriage, only half
the mehr would become binding. In
the aforementioned scenario, it would
be necessary for your husband to pay
the full mehr stipulated at the time of
nikah unless it was explicitly forgiven.
Question: After divorce, it is common
for the wife to demand half of the
ex-husband’s belongings and wealth. Is
this permissible in Islam?
Answer: After divorce takes place, the
husband is responsible to pay for the
wife’s living expenses during the ‘idda
period as well as any mehr still outstanding.
The husband is also responsible
to pay for his children’s living expenses
until they reach puberty. After
the woman has completed her ‘idda,
she is not entitled to any further support
from the husband. As for demanding
half of the ex-husband’s property,
there is no justification in Shari‘a for either
spouse to demand any of their exspouse’s
property. Demanding more
than one’s Islamic right through the
legal court system would be considered
extortion in the light of the Shari‘a and
a major sin.
Question: There have been many issues
between my husband and I. We have
now mutually decided that it is best for
both of us to part ways. What is the correct
method for issuing divorce?
Answer: In reference to your question,
if you have exhausted all avenues of
reconciliation and it has become clear
that maintaining the relationship is no
longer tenable, then a husband may issue
a divorce in the following manner:
28 January – February 2022 | AL-MADINAH