Fatwa ID: 04046

Answered by: Maulana Muhammad Imad Ali

Question

Can a Muslim woman give talaq to her husband? What do the Qur’an, Hadeeth, and Shariah say about it?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

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

Answer

First and foremost, it is only the right of the husband to give his wife Talaq. A woman is not allowed to give Talaq and such a Talaq would not affect the termination of the marriage.

The evidence from the Holy Quran are as follows:

1.  "O Prophet! when you divorce women, divorce them at their prescribed periods." (Surah Talaq V.1)
2.  "So, if the husband divorces his wife, he cannot after that remarry her until after she has married another husband." (Surah Baqarah v230)
3.  "When you divorce women and they fulfil the term of iddah…" (Surah Baqarah v231)
4.  "There is no blame on you if you divorce women before consumption or the fixation of the dower." (Surah Baqarah v236)
5.  "And he is whose hand is the Marriage …" (Surah Baqarah v237)

Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, says that the prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said “The most hateful permissible thing in the sight of Allah is divorce." Narrated by Abu Dawud as quoted by Mishkat, Hadith no. 3280, pg.601, vol.1.

There is an Islamic way for a Muslim woman to annul the marriage in particular on the grounds of domestic violence and that is through an Islamic Shariah Council.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Moulana Muhammad Imad Ali

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham