Fatwa ID: 09109
Answered by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Question:
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh,
I am seeking a detailed ruling regarding a very serious situation related to divorce, and I kindly ask you to consider all the circumstances carefully.
At the time of the incident, both families were present. There had already been ongoing marital difficulties, and my wife was in a sensitive and uncertain state regarding our relationship. During that moment, my parents spoke negatively about me in front of her family, which significantly worsened the situation and caused her to enter a state of shock and emotional distress. As a result of what she heard at that moment, she expressed that she no longer wished to continue the marriage, and her family also made it clear that they no longer wanted me to remain in the marriage.
I was then placed in a situation where I felt compelled to write a statement of divorce, even though this was absolutely not my decision.
I explicitly refused multiple times. I clearly stated that I did not want to divorce my wife. I was in distress, pleading and even crying, asking not to be forced into this.
At one point, I said that if my wife wanted separation, she could pursue khul‘. However, I was told by her parents that khul‘ was not possible in France and that it was my responsibility to write the divorce myself.
I insisted that I could not write it, but I was told words to the effect of: “It doesn’t matter, you can stay here, you have the whole night.” At that moment, I personally understood this as meaning that I would not be able to leave unless I complied, and this significantly increased my sense of pressure and distress. I felt completely unable to escape the situation, along with a growing fear that the situation could escalate into conflict between the two families.
I was told to write in a book the statement including my name and the date, and I ended up writing the following sentence three times:
“ Me, [ my name and surname], i give you divorce the 31/01/2026.”
While I was writing, internally I was turning to Allah and saying in my heart ya Allah that this was not my will, i’m forced to write that and i don’t have the intention to divorce and asking Him not to hold me accountable for what I was being forced to write, as I did not want any of this and felt completely compelled.
I had absolutely no intention of divorcing. My heart and mind were completely opposed to what I was being forced to do. I was only trying to get out of the situation.
Today, both my wife and I do not want separation. We sincerely wish to remain together and resolve our situation properly according to Islam.
My question is:
Considering the clear absence of intention, the repeated refusal, the emotional distress, the specific format I was told to follow, and the strong pressure I was under, is this divorce considered valid according to the Hanafi school?
And if there is any معتبر (recognized) opinion within the Hanafi school or broader fiqh that would consider this divorce invalid due to coercion, could you please clarify?
Jazakum Allahu khayran for your time and guidance.
Wa as-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Written documents and contracts are valid methods of issuing divorce in Islam. If a man willingly writes and addresses a document for divorce to his wife, the document will be binding and divorce will occur. For the document to be binding, it must be clear, with the sender and recipient written. If the document is clear but the sender and recipient are not written, then the divorce will be according to the husband’s intention (i.e. if it was a letter issuing divorce, or the topic was something else). The normal rules of divorce will apply to a written document of divorce. This means that the number of divorces will be according to how many are given in the document. In addition, the divorce will either occur the moment it is written, or when the conditions stated in the document are met. Witnesses will not be necessary for this document to be valid, as divorce itself does not require witnesses for its validity.[1]
It should be noted that the situation described would not be considered coercion or force even if you felt mentally pressured, as neither your life nor limbs were under threat of destruction during the issuance. In addition, being compelled or forced to give verbal divorce does not invalidate the statement, as divorce is applied upon its delivery and not the circumstances in which it occurs. However, if an individual had been coerced by being subjected to severe violence and genuine prolonged imprisonment to write a letter of divorce, then the writing would not be considered valid.[2]
In conclusion, your situation would not be considered one of being legally coerced or forced, as you were neither subject to violence nor genuinely threatened with actual imprisonment. From the description given, your in-laws simply expressed they had the patience to wait for you to issue the divorce, and there was no explicit or actual threat of being imprisoned in their home. I suggest presenting your case to a local Islamic Court or Shariah Council, where they can more accurately investigate both the documentation and situation in which the divorces took place.
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
[1]
الْفَصْلُ السَّادِسُ فِي الطَّلَاقِ بِالْكِتَابَةِ) الْكِتَابَةُ عَلَى نَوْعَيْنِ مَرْسُومَةٌ وَغَيْرُ مَرْسُومَةٍ وَنَعْنِي بِالْمَرْسُومَةِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُصَدَّرًا وَمُعَنْوَنًا مِثْلُ مَا يُكْتَبُ إلَى الْغَائِبِ وَغَيْرُ مَوْسُومَةٍ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ مُصَدَّرًا وَمُعَنْوَنًا وَهُوَ عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ مُسْتَبِينَةٌ وَغَيْرُ مُسْتَبِينَةٍ فَالْمُسْتَبِينَةُ مَا يُكْتَبُ عَلَى الصَّحِيفَةِ وَالْحَائِطِ وَالْأَرْضِ عَلَى وَجْهٍ يُمْكِنُ فَهْمُهُ وَقِرَاءَتُهُ وَغَيْرُ الْمُسْتَبِينَةِ مَا يُكْتَبُ عَلَى الْهَوَاءِ وَالْمَاءِ وَشَيْءٍ لَا يُمْكِنُ فَهْمُهُ وَقِرَاءَتُهُ فَفِي غَيْرِ الْمُسْتَبِينَةِ لَا يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ وَإِنْ نَوَى وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مُسْتَبِينَةً لَكِنَّهَا غَيْرُ مَرْسُومَةٍ إنْ نَوَى الطَّلَاقَ يَقَعُ وَإِلَّا فَلَا وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مَرْسُومَةً يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ نَوَى أَوْ لَمْ يَنْوِ ثُمَّ الْمَرْسُومَةُ لَا تَخْلُو أَمَّا إنْ أَرْسَلَ الطَّلَاقَ بِأَنْ كَتَبَ أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَنْت طَالِقٌ فَكُلَّمَا كَتَبَ هَذَا يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ وَتَلْزَمُهَا الْعِدَّةُ مِنْ وَقْتِ الْكِتَابَةِ
وَإِنْ عَلَّقَ طَلَاقَهَا بِمَجِيءِ الْكِتَابِ بِأَنْ كَتَبَ إذَا جَاءَك كِتَابِي هَذَا فَأَنْت طَالِقٌ فَمَا لَمْ يَجِئْ إلَيْهَا الْكِتَابُ لَا يَقَعُ كَذَا فِي فَتَاوَى قَاضِي خَانْ
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.378, Dār Al-Fiqr)
[2]
فَصْلٌ فِيمَنْ يَقَعُ طَلَاقُهُ وَفِيمَنْ لَا يَقَعُ طَلَاقُهُ) يَقَعُ طَلَاقُ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ إذَا كَانَ بَالِغًا عَاقِلًا سَوَاءٌ كَانَ حُرًّا أَوْ عَبْدًا طَائِعًا أَوْ مُكْرَهًا
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.353, Dār Al-Fiqr)
وَأَمَّا) (أَنْوَاعُهُ) فَالْإِكْرَاهُ فِي أَصْلِهِ عَلَى نَوْعَيْنِ إمَّا إنْ كَانَ مُلْجِئًا أَوْ غَيْرَ مُلْجِئٍ فَالْإِكْرَاهُ الْمُلْجِئُ هُوَ الْإِكْرَاهُ بِوَعِيدِ تَلَفِ النَّفْسِ أَوْ بِوَعِيدِ تَلَفِ عُضْوٍ مِنْ الْأَعْضَاءِ وَالْإِكْرَاهُ الَّذِي هُوَ غَيْرُ مُلْجِئٍ هُوَ الْإِكْرَاهُ بِالْحَبْسِ وَالتَّقْيِيدِ.
وَأَمَّا) (حُكْمُهُ) وَهُوَ الرُّخْصَةُ أَوْ الْإِبَاحَةُ أَوْ غَيْرُهُمَا فَيَثْبُتُ عِنْدَ وُجُودِ شَرْطِهِ، وَالْأَصْلُ أَنَّ تَصَرُّفَاتِ الْمُكْرِهِ كُلَّهَا قَوْلًا مُنْعَقِدَةٌ عِنْدَنَا إلَّا أَنَّ مَا يَحْتَمِلُ الْفَسْخَ مِنْهُ كَالْبَيْعِ وَالْإِجَارَةِ يُفْسَخُ، وَمَا لَا يَحْتَمِلُ الْفَسْخَ مِنْهُ كَالطَّلَاقِ وَالْعَتَاقِ وَالنِّكَاحِ وَالتَّدْبِيرِ وَالِاسْتِيلَادِ وَالنَّذْرِ فَهُوَ لَازِمٌ…
… وَقَدْرُ مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ الْحَبْسِ إكْرَاهًا مَا يَجِيءُ بِهِ الِاغْتِمَامُ الْبَيِّنُ، وَمِنْ الضَّرْبِ مَا يَجِدُ مِنْهُ الْأَلَمَ الشَّدِيدَ وَلَيْسَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَدٌّ لَا يُزَادُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا يُنْقَصُ مِنْهُ بَلْ يَكُونُ مُفَوَّضًا إلَى رَأْيِ الْإِمَامِ…
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.5, pg.35-6, Dār Al-Fiqr)
رَجُلٌ أُكْرِهَ بِالضَّرْبِ وَالْحَبْسِ عَلَى أَنْ يَكْتُبَ طَلَاقَ امْرَأَتِهِ فُلَانَةَ بِنْتِ فُلَانٍ بْنِ فُلَانٍ فَكَتَبَ امْرَأَتَهُ فُلَانَةَ بِنْتَ فُلَانٍ بْنِ فُلَانٍ طَالِقٌ لَا تَطْلُقُ امْرَأَتُهُ كَذَا فِي فَتَاوَى قَاضِي خَانْ
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.379, Dār Al-Fiqr)