Fatwa ID: 07851

 

Answered by: Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

 

Question:

 

If a woman says before marriage, “I am divorced if I get married” will she be divorced right after marriage when her husband gives her the right to divorce herself? She said it long before her marriage when she didn’t know her husband.

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

The Right of Talāq is Exclusive to the Husband

 

In Islam, Talāq (divorce) is inherently and exclusively in the hands of the husband. However, he may delegate the right of one or all three of his Talāqs to someone else, including his wife, through specific conditions or agreements such as Tafweed al-Talaq or al-Amr bi al-Yad. This delegation (Tafweed) must be explicit and is not automatic. You may request your future husband not to give you the right of divorce before marriage, rather it is necessary in your situation. If your future husband does not grant you this right, it will remain exclusively his.

 

“If he says to his wife “Choose” intending divorce by that or he says to her “Divorce yourself,” then she has the right to divorce herself as long as she is in that Majlis [setting], even if it [the Majlis] lasts a day or more, as long as she does not get up from it or start doing something else.”[1, 2]

 

Therefore, any statement made by a woman regarding Talāq before or after marriage remains ineffective unless the husband explicitly grants her the right to execute it.

 

Conditional Statements

 

In the Hanafi Madhhab, conditional statements take effect when the condition is found immediately or later, but not before the condition.

 

“The statement suspended on a condition is a cause [of the occurrence of Talāq] when the condition is found, not before it [the condition].”[3]

 

Additionally, the person must possess ownership (Milk) of Nikāh (must be already married) or should attribute the statement to the cause of the ownership of Nikāh (the future marriage), since a person cannot divorce someone they are not married to or divorce someone they will never marry.

 

“The validity of the suspended statement for the occurrence [of Talāq] in the situation of not owning [the Nikāh] is that it [the suspended statement] be attributed to the ownership [of Nikāh] and to the cause of ownership [of Nikāh]”[4]

 

Therefore, conditional Talāq takes effect after the condition only when the person is capable of giving Talāq.

 

Condition and Ability Found At the Same Time

 

The ability to give Talāq should be established either alongside the condition or from before the condition was found. Fatāwā Hindiyyah mentions:

 

“If he attributes divorce to the marriage, it occurs immediately after the marriage, such as saying to a woman: ‘If I marry you, then you are divorced,’ or ‘Every woman I marry is divorced.’ And likewise, if he says ‘If’ or ‘When’”[5]

 

Fath Al-Qadeer mentions:

“(And if he attributes divorce to the marriage, it occurs immediately after the marriage, such as if he says to a woman, ‘If I marry you, then you are divorced,’ or ‘Every woman I marry is divorced.’) … According to us, this is an oath transaction due to the existence of the Shart [condition] and the Jazaa [result/consequence], so it is not a condition for its validity that ownership [of Talaaq] be established immediately because the occurrence [of Talaaq] at the time of the condition [i.e. the Nikaah] and ownership [of Nikāh] is established for him. And before that, its [the Talaaq’s] effect is prevented, and it [the Talaaq] is established by the one who is disposing of it.”[6]

 

In the above situation, the condition of marriage and the ownership of Nikāh and Talāq were established at the same time, so the Talāq will go through[7].

 

 

Ability Found First Condition Found Later

 

If the ownership of Nikāh was established first then later the condition was found, the conditional Talāq would also execute. Fath Al-Qadeer mentions:

 

“(And if he attributed it [the Talāq] to a condition, it [the Talāq] would occur after the condition, such as saying to his wife ‘If you enter the house, then you are divorced’) and this is according to the consensus because the ownership [of Nikāh] is [already] established at the moment [of the condition], and it is apparent that it [the ownership of Nikāh] remains until the time the condition occurs.”[8]

 

 

Condition Found First Ability Found Later

 

If the condition was found before the ownership of Nikāh, then the Talāq would be invalid, unless the husband attributes his condition to the cause of the Nikāh (future marriage).

 

“(His statement: “It is not valid to attribute divorce [to anything] unless the one who took the oath is the owner [of the Nikāh i.e. is marrying or already married to her] or attributes it [the Talāq] to his ownership [of Nikāh i.e. attributes it to the marriage by saying “if I marry you”] because the result/consequence [of the condition] must be clearly present”) meaning: Its [the Nikāh’s] existence is apparent at the time of the action … The conclusion is that his saying to a nonrelative woman: “If you enter the house then you are divorced” when it [the action of the woman entering the house] occurred, it is incorrect to make it [the Talāq] occur due to the absence of the ability [to give Talāq], [and it is incorrect to make it] an oath due to the absence of the meaning of an oath.”[9]

 

 

Explanation of the Conditional Statements in Your Case

 

Let’s consider the statement “I am divorced if I get married.” For the husband, the existence of the Shart (Nikāh) and the ability to execute the Talāq occur at the same time. The ownership of Nikāh and Talāq are automatically established for the husband at the time of contract. For the wife, the ability to execute Talāq normally occurs after the Nikāh only when the husband gives her the authority of Talāq. Since the wife normally is not capable (Mahall) of giving Talāq when the contract of marriage occurs, if a woman makes the same conditional Talāq statement before marriage, it will not execute unless the husband gives her the right of Talāq at the time of the marriage contract. If other similar statements were made, they may also occur when the husband delegates the right of Talāq to his wife. Therefore, It would be highly advisable to share your situation with your husband before the marriage to avoid complications.

 

 

References:

 

[1]إذَا قَالَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ اخْتَارِي يَنْوِي بِذَلِكَ الطَّلَاقَ أَوْ قَالَ لَهَا طَلِّقِي نَفْسَك فَلَهَا أَنْ تُطَلِّقَ نَفْسَهَا مَا دَامَتْ فِي مَجْلِسِهَا ذَلِكَ وَإِنْ تَطَاوَلَ يَوْمًا أَوْ أَكْثَرَ مَا لَمْ تَقُمْ مِنْهُ أَوْ تَأْخُذَ فِي عَمَلٍ آخَرَ

(Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyya, vol. 1, pg. 387, Al-Maṭba’ah Al-Kubrā Al-Amīriyyah)

 

[2] (وَإِذَا قَالَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ: اخْتَارِي يَنْوِي بِذَلِكَ الطَّلَاقَ أَوْ قَالَ لَهَا: طَلِّقِي نَفْسَك فَلَهَا أَنْ تُطَلِّقَ نَفْسَهَا مَا دَامَتْ فِي مَجْلِسِهَا ذَلِكَ، فَإِنْ قَامَتْ مِنْهُ أَوْ أَخَذَتْ فِي عَمَلٍ آخَرَ خَرَجَ الْأَمْرُ مِنْ يَدِهَا) لِأَنَّ الْمُخَيَّرَةَ لَهَا الْمَجْلِسُ بِإِجْمَاعِ الصَّحَابَةِ ﵃ أَجْمَعِينَ

(Al-Fath Al-Qadeer, vol. 4, pg. 76, Maṭba’ah Mustafā Al-Bābī Al-Halabī)

 

[3] فَقَالَ أَصْحَابنَا الْمُعَلق بِالشّرطِ سَبَب عِنْد وجود الشَّرْط لَا قبله

(Usūl Ash-Shāshī, pg. 249, Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Arabī)

 

[4] وَلِهَذَا الْمَعْنى قُلْنَا شَرط صِحَة التَّعْلِيق للوقوع فِي صُورَة عدم الْملك أَن يكون مُضَافا إِلَى الْملك وَإِلَى سَبَب الْملك حَتَّى لَو قَالَ لأجنبية إِن دخلت الدَّار فإنت طَالِق ثمَّ تزَوجهَا وَوجد الشَّرْط لَا يَقع الطَّلَاق

(Usūl Ash-Shāshī, pg. 249-250, Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Arabī)

 

[5] إذَا أَضَافَ الطَّلَاقَ إلَى النِّكَاحِ وَقَعَ عَقِيبَ النِّكَاحِ نَحْوُ أَنْ يَقُولَ لِامْرَأَةٍ: إنْ تَزَوَّجْتُكِ فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ أَوْ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ أَتَزَوَّجُهَا فَهِيَ طَالِقٌ وَكَذَا إذَا قَالَ: إذَا أَوْ مَتَى

(Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyya, vol. 1, pg. 420, Al-Maṭba’ah Al-Kubrā Al-Amīriyyah)

 

[6] (وَإِذَا أَضَافَ الطَّلَاقَ إلَى النِّكَاحِ وَقَعَ عَقِيبَ النِّكَاحِ مِثْلُ أَنْ يَقُولَ لِامْرَأَةٍ إنْ تَزَوَّجْتُك فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ أَوْ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ أَتَزَوَّجُهَا فَهِيَ طَالِقٌ) … وَلَنَا أَنَّ هَذَا تَصَرُّفُ يَمِينٍ لِوُجُودِ الشَّرْطِ وَالْجَزَاءِ فَلَا يُشْتَرَطُ لِصِحَّتِهِ قِيَامُ الْمِلْكِ فِي الْحَالِ لِأَنَّ الْوُقُوعَ عِنْدَ الشَّرْطِ وَالْمِلْكُ مُتَيَقَّنٌ بِهِ عِنْدَهُ وَقَبْلَ ذَلِكَ أَثَرُهُ الْمَنْعُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ بِالْمُتَصَرِّفِ، وَالْحَدِيثُ مَحْمُولٌ عَلَى نَفْيِ التَّنْجِيزِ،

(Al-Fath Al-Qadeer, vol. 4, pg. 115, Maṭba’ah Mustafā Al-Bābī Al-Halabī)

 

[7] وَعِنْدنَا كَانَ التَّعْلِيق صَحِيحا حَتَّى لَو تزَوجهَا يَقع الطَّلَاق لِأَن كَلَامه إِنَّمَا ينْعَقد عِلّة عِنْد وجود الشَّرْط وَالْملك ثَابت عِنْد وجود الشَّرْط فَيصح التَّعْلِيق

(Usūl Ash-Shāshī, pg. 249, Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Arabī)

 

[8] (وَإِذَا أَضَافَهُ إلَى شَرْطٍ وَقَعَ عَقِيبَ الشَّرْطِ مِثْلُ أَنْ يَقُولَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ: إنْ دَخَلْت الدَّارَ فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ) وَهَذَا بِالِاتِّفَاقِ لِأَنَّ الْمِلْكَ قَائِمٌ فِي الْحَالِ، وَالظَّاهِرُ بَقَاؤُهُ إلَى وَقْتِ وُجُودِ الشَّرْطِ

(Al-Fath Al-Qadeer, vol. 4, pg. 116, Maṭba’ah Mustafā Al-Bābī Al-Halabī)

 

[9] (قَوْلُهُ وَلَا تَصِحُّ إضَافَةُ الطَّلَاقِ إلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ الْحَالِفُ مَالِكًا أَوْ يُضِيفُهُ إلَى مِلْكِهِ لِأَنَّ الْجَزَاءَ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ ظَاهِرَ الْوُجُودِ) أَيْ ظَاهِرًا وُجُودُهُ عِنْدَ الْفِعْلِ … وَالْحَاصِلُ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ لِلْأَجْنَبِيَّةِ: إنْ دَخَلْت الدَّارَ فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ حِينَ صَدَرَ لَا يَصِحُّ جَعْلُهُ إيقَاعًا لِعَدَمِ الْمَحَلِّ وَلَا يَمِينًا لِعَدَمِ مَعْنَى الْيَمِينِ وَهُوَ مَا يَكُونُ حَامِلًا عَلَى الْبِرِّ لِإِخَافَتِهِ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَصْدُرْ مُخِيفًا لِعَدَمِ ظُهُورِ الْجَزَاءِ عِنْدَ الْفِعْلِ لِعَدَمِ ظُهُورِ ثُبُوتِ الْمَحَلِّيَّةِ عِنْدَ وُجُودِ الشَّرْطِ.

(Al-Fath Al-Qadeer, vol. 4, pg. 119, Maṭba’ah Mustafā Al-Bābī Al-Halabī)

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham