Divorce is permitted in Islam as a last resort if it is not possible to continue a marriage. Certain steps need to be taken to ensure that all options have been exhausted and both parties are treated with respect and justice.
Divorce is not just the end of the relationship; it affects the couple, their children, their families and society too. MM News talked to Mufti Syed Hasnain Shah to know what Islam says about divorce.
MM News: Divorce ratio in our society is increasing, what are the reasons and how it can be overcome?
Mufti Hasnain: Financial issues, teenage marriages, trust issues, joint family system and decreasing religious value education are some of the main reasons for divorce. A woman should live her life in obedience to the man. She should be a source of comfort for the man.
I want to mention here that we have lost love and affection between families. This problem can be overcome if men and women understand their responsibilities and promote love.
Islam teaches us that when men and women are tied in a beautiful marriage bond, they cannot share their love affairs with anyone else. If men and women understand each other’s rights, then divorce cases will definitely decrease.
MM News: What does Islam say about divorce?
Mufti Hasnain: Divorce is something that is very much discouraged in Islam. It is called, according to one of the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) ‘the most hateful thing that is permissible.’
When a marriage is in danger, couples are advised to pursue all possible remedies to rebuild the relationship. Divorce is allowed as a last option, but it is discouraged. For this reason, the first step a couple should make is to really search their hearts, evaluate the relationship, and try to reconcile. All marriages have ups and downs, and this decision should not arrive easily.
MM News: Nowadays, people say Talaq 3 times in anger, what does Islam say about this?
Mufti Hasnain: There are two things that must be clear in your mind. First the talaq word is valid in case of intention and joke, according to the hadith: “Three are counted in case of seriousness and joke: divorce, etc.” So, when you say that you did not have any plan of divorcing her, this does not change anything in the ruling.
The second thing you need to know is that The Prophet (S.A.W), said: “Talaq is not valid in case of ighlaq.” One of the meanings of ighlaq is when the person is extremely angry that he is not aware of what he says. So if the case was exactly like what you described in your question, I hope that your divorce is invalid.
MM News: What are the Islamic rules of divorce?
Mufti Hasnain: The best way to give divorce to your wife is Talaq –e-Hasan. In this form too, there is a provision for revocation. The words of Talaq are to be pronounced three times in the successive periods after menstrual cycles. The husband has to make a single declaration of Talaq and then await for another menstrual cycle to pronounce another declaration.
The first and second pronouncements may be revoked by the husband. If he does so, either expressly or by resuming conjugal relations, the words of Talaq become ineffective as if no Talaq was made at all. But, if no revocation is made after the first or second declaration then lastly the husband is to make the third pronouncement in the third period the Talaq becomes irrevocable and the marriage dissolves.
