Fatwa ID: 07690
Answered by: Maulana Sheik Abdel Ahaad Imrit
Question:
If a wife asks for divorce on a call and her husband cuts the call and decides in his mind that he won’t give her divorce but will scare her because she keeps on asking for it. After a couple of minutes, she calls him and asks what happened and the husband replies: “what you wanted has happened, we don’t have a relationship anymore” The rest of the sentences he’s not sure of but most likely were “why did you ask for it, now go get married”. Then his wife starts crying and he clarified by swearing that he didn’t divorce her. He didn’t have the intention and he never used the word divorce. Is it a valid divorce? If it is then will it be a bain divorce or a raj’ee divorce?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Wa ʿalaykumu s-salam waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
Divorce using kinayah (allusive) terms is divided into three categories:
- Phrases that serve only as a direct response.
- Phrases that can serve as both a response and a dismissal.
- Phrases that can serve as both a response and an insult.
There are also three main contexts for using these terms:
- The Context of Contentment.
- The Context of Discussing Divorce: This occurs when she or someone else asks him to divorce her. In this context, divorce is considered valid for all categories except those that can serve as both a response and a dismissal.
- The Context of Anger.
In your case, the context falls under “Discussing Divorce,” and the response used was one that serves only as a direct answer.
Therefore, under the legal ruling (qada’), an irrevocable divorce is considered to have occurred, and the husband’s claim that it did not occur is not accepted.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Mawlana Sheik Abdel Ahaad Imrit
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
«الاختيار لتعليل المختار» (3/ 133):
«وَفِي حَالِ مُذَاكَرَةِ الطَّلَاقِ يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ قَضَاءً وَلَا يُصَدَّقُ عَلَى عَدَمِهِ إِلَّا فِيمَا يَصْلُحُ جَوَابًا وَرَدًّا لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَحْتَمِلُ الرَّدَّ وَهُوَ الْأَدْنَى فَيُصَدَّقُ فِيهِ.»
«الفتاوى العالمكيرية = الفتاوى الهندية» (1/ 374):
«الْفَصْلُ الْخَامِسُ فِي الْكِنَايَاتِ فِي الطَّلَاقُ]
(الْفَصْلُ الْخَامِسُ فِي الْكِنَايَاتِ) لَا يَقَعُ بِهَا الطَّلَاقُ إلَّا بِالنِّيَّةِ أَوْ بِدَلَالَةِ حَالٍ كَذَا فِي الْجَوْهَرَةِ النَّيِّرَةِ. ثُمَّ الْكِنَايَاتُ ثَلَاثَةُ أَقْسَامٍ (مَا يَصْلُحُ جَوَابًا لَا غَيْرُ) أَمْرُك بِيَدِك، اخْتَارِي، اعْتَدِّي (وَمَا يَصْلُحُ جَوَابًا وَرَدَّا لَا غَيْرُ) اُخْرُجِي اذْهَبِي اُعْزُبِي قُومِي تَقَنَّعِي اسْتَتِرِي تَخَمَّرِي (وَمَا يَصْلُحُ جَوَابًا وَشَتْمًا) خَلِيَّةٌ بَرِيَّةٌ بَتَّةٌ بَتْلَةٌ بَائِنٌ حَرَامٌ وَالْأَحْوَالُ ثَلَاثَةٌ (حَالَةُ) الرِّضَا (وَحَالَةُ) مُذَاكَرَةِ الطَّلَاقِ بِأَنْ تَسْأَلَ هِيَ طَلَاقَهَا أَوْ غَيْرُهَا يَسْأَلُ طَلَاقَهَا
«البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق ومنحة الخالق وتكملة الطوري» (3/ 327):
«فَصَارَتْ الْأَلْفَاظُ الْوَاقِعُ بِهَا حَالَ الْمُذَاكَرَةِ عِشْرِينَ لَفْظًا وَإِنَّمَا وَقَعَ الْبَائِنُ»
