Fatwa ID: 09171
Answered by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum,
I need help understanding my situation regarding talaq.
I had a secret nikkah with my husband in September. with 2 witnesses mehr but no wali.
About one week later, due to family pressure and being forced to marry someone else, I asked my husband for divorce, even though I did not truly want it.
He sent me a text message saying “talaq” once.
After this, I did ruju and we continued our marriage privately for several months.
Later, our families found out again. During an argument, my husband’s mother pressured him to say talaq to prove the marriage was over.
In front of others, my husband said:
“I give her talaq, I give her talaq.”
His intention was not to divorce me, but to convince my family and hide that we had reconciled. because if they found out the consequences would be really bad.
He was unaware that saying talaq would count, He later learned that talaq counts even after ruju and did not intend to give a final divorce.
We are both very young (17 and 18) and did not fully understand the rulings at the time. and desperately want to be together
My question:
Do these statements count as three separate talaqs, making the divorce final, or is there any valid opinion that counts them differently due to intention, pressure, or repetition?
Please advise according to Islamic law.
JazakAllahu Khair.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
It should be noted that words of divorce are of two types: clear/explicit (Ṣariḥ) and ambiguous (Kināyah). The statements “talaq” and “I give her talaq” are clear and explicit, therefore the situation and intention will not be taken into account.[1]
In your situation, several factors need to be considered in order to determine if divorce has taken place. The first being the validity of your initial marriage. A Nikah consists of three conditions: first the proposal of marriage (Ijaab) is made, after which would be the acceptance (Qabul), alongside witnesses. According to the Hanafi Mazhab, the marriage of a mature woman without the permission of the Wali (guardian) is valid so long as the person she has married is considered Islamically compatible (kafā’ah) with her at the time of marriage. If the husband was not considered Islamically compatible when the nikah was made, the marriage would be considered invalid and any divorces would also not apply.[2]
If your marriage was considered valid, what then needs to be considered is whether or not consummation or a valid seclusion (Khalwah as-Sahiha) occurred. If neither consummation nor a valid seclusion occurred, as the divorces given were all separate statements, only the first statement of divorce would be valid for each of your nikahs. This means only two divorces would apply thus far. On the other hand, if consummation or a valid seclusion did occur, all three divorces would apply. In this situation, the nikah cannot be renewed until you (the wife) enter into a genuine marriage with a different husband and then that marriage naturally ends.[3]
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
[1]
مِنْ أَنَّ الصَّرِيحَ مَا لَا يَحْتَاجُ إلَى نِيَّةٍ بَائِنًا كَانَ الْوَاقِعُ بِهِ أَوْ رَجْعِيًّا خَاصٌّ بِالصَّرِيحِ فِي الْجُمْلَةِ الْأُولَى: أَعْنِي قَوْلَهُمْ الصَّرِيحُ يَلْحَقُ الصَّرِيحَ وَالْبَائِنَ
Raddul Muhtār (Vol.3, pg.308, Dār Al-Fiqr)
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)
[2]
وَأَمَّا رُكْنُهُ) فَالْإِيجَابُ وَالْقَبُولُ، كَذَا فِي الْكَافِي وَالْإِيجَابُ مَا يُتَلَفَّظُ بِهِ أَوَّلًا مِنْ أَيِّ جَانِبٍ كَانَ وَالْقَبُولُ جَوَابُهُ هَكَذَا فِي الْعِنَايَةِ…(وَمِنْهَا) الشَّهَادَةُ قَالَ عَامَّةُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: إنَّهَا شَرْطُ جَوَازِ النِّكَاحِ هَكَذَا فِي الْبَدَائِعِ وَشُرِطَ فِي الشَّاهِدِ أَرْبَعَةُ أُمُورٍ: الْحُرِّيَّةُ وَالْعَقْلُ وَالْبُلُوغُ وَالْإِسْلَامُ…
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.267, Dār Al-Fiqr)
فَإِنَّ حَاصِلَهُ: أَنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ إذَا زَوَّجَتْ نَفْسَهَا مِنْ كُفْءٍ لَزِمَ عَلَى الْأَوْلِيَاءِ وَإِنْ زَوَّجَتْ مِنْ غَيْرِ كُفْءٍ لَا يَلْزَمُ أَوْ لَا يَصِحُّ بِخِلَافِ جَانِبِ الرَّجُلِ فَإِنَّهُ إذَا تَزَوَّجَ بِنَفْسِهِ مُكَافِئَةً لَهُ أَوْ لَا فَإِنَّهُ صَحِيحٌ لَازِمٌ
Raddul Muhtār (Vol.3, pg.84-5, Dār Al-Fiqr)
ثُمَّ الْمَرْأَةُ إذَا زَوَّجَتْ نَفْسَهَا مِنْ غَيْرِ كُفْءٍ … وَرَوَى الْحَسَنُ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى – أَنَّ النِّكَاحَ لَا يَنْعَقِدُ وَبِهِ أَخَذَ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ مَشَايِخِنَا رَحِمَهُمْ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، كَذَا فِي الْمُحِيطِ وَالْمُخْتَارُ فِي زَمَانِنَا لِلْفَتْوَى رِوَايَةُ الْحَسَنِ وَقَالَ الشَّيْخُ الْإِمَامُ شَمْسُ الْأَئِمَّةِ السَّرَخْسِيُّ رِوَايَةُ الْحَسَنِ أَقْرَبُ إلَى الِاحْتِيَاطِ…
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.292, Dār Al-Fiqr)
[3]
الْفَصْلُ الرَّابِعُ فِي الطَّلَاقِ قَبْلَ الدُّخُولِ) إذَا طَلَّقَ الرَّجُلُ امْرَأَتَهُ ثَلَاثًا قَبْلَ الدُّخُولِ بِهَا وَقَعْنَ عَلَيْهَا فَإِنْ فَرَّقَ الطَّلَاقَ بَانَتْ بِالْأُولَى وَلَمْ تَقَعْ الثَّانِيَةُ وَالثَّالِثَةُ وَذَلِكَ مِثْلُ أَنْ يَقُولَ أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ طَالِقٌ طَالِقٌ وَكَذَا إذَا قَالَ أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ وَاحِدَةً وَوَاحِدَةً وَقَعَتْ وَاحِدَةٌ…
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.373, Dār Al-Fiqr)
الطَّلَاقُ مَرَّتَانِ ۖ فَإِمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍ … فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِن بَعْدُ حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ ۗ فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَن يَتَرَاجَعَا إِن ظَنَّا أَن يُقِيمَا حُدُودَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَتِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ يُبَيِّنُهَا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
Qur’an (2:229-230)
قَوْله تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَنْ يَتَرَاجَعَا﴾ [البقرة: ٢٣٠] أَيْ يَتَنَاكَحَا بَعْدَ طَلَاقِ الزَّوْجِ الثَّانِي وَذَا فِي الْحُرِّ وَالْحُرَّةِ
Badā’i’ Al-Ṣanā’i’ (Vol.3, pg.97, Dār Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah)