Fatwa ID: 08458

Answered by: Alimah Maryam Badshah 

Question:

I am really struggling to know if my marriage is intact or not. One day I was sleeping my wife came and said I will marry someone else this is what I thought she said, as I just woke up in bed I became shook and said” teek hai you want to marry go marry you are divorced from me if you want this” or similar words like if this is what you want then fair you are divorced from me… she then went because I thought she didn’t hear me I said these words again to tell her what I said initially.

Later I found out she didn’t say she wants to marry, what she said was for me to marry another women as MIL not happy with her…

I’m confused where I stand, I can’t remember exact wording but there was no intention to divorce, its because I woke up in shock and uttered those words, I’m getting waswasa.

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

Answer:

Words of divorce are of two types: clear/explicit (Ṣariḥ) and ambiguous (Kināyah). From the description you have given, your statement of divorce was a clear pronouncement of divorce that is dependent upon the response your wife had to your statement. If your wife responded by confirming that she wanted the divorce during that sitting, it would be a valid divorce. If your wife responded that she did not wish for a divorce, or she moved away without responding, this would result in the divorce not taking effect.

References:

 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)

رَجُلٌ قَالَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ: خُذِي طَلَاقَكِ فَقَالَتْ أَخَذْتُ يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ…

رَجُلٌ قَالَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ وَهَبْتُ لَكِ تَطْلِيقَك يَكُونُ تَفْوِيضًا إنْ طَلَّقَتْ نَفْسَهَا فِي الْمَجْلِسِ يَقَعُ وَإِلَّا فَلَا

Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.359, Dār Al-Fiqr)

وَهُوَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ قَوْلِهِ: إنْ كُنْتِ تُحِبِّينِي أَوْ تَبْغَضِينِي وَإِنْ قَالَ لَهَا: إنْ كُنْتِ تُحِبِّينِي بِقَلْبِكِ فَأَنْت طَالِقٌ فَقَالَتْ: أُحِبُّكِ وَهِيَ كَاذِبَةٌ طَلَقَتْ قَضَاءً وَدِيَانَةً عِنْدَ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ وَأَبِي يُوسُفَ – رَحِمَهُمَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى… ثُمَّ اعْلَمْ أَنَّ التَّعْلِيقَ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ كَالتَّعْلِيقِ بِالْحَيْضِ لَا يَفْتَرِقَانِ إلَّا فِي شَيْئَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا أَنَّ التَّعْلِيقَ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ يَقْتَصِرُ عَلَى الْمَجْلِسِ لِكَوْنِهِ تَخْيِيرًا حَتَّى لَوْ قَامَتْ وَقَالَتْ: أُحِبُّكَ لَا تَطْلُقُ وَالتَّعْلِيقُ بِالْحَيْضِ لَا يَبْطُلُ بِالْقِيَامِ كَسَائِرِ التَّعْلِيقَاتِ، وَثَانِيهِمَا أَنَّهَا إذَا كَانَتْ كَاذِبَةً فِي الْإِخْبَارِ تَطْلُقُ فِي التَّعْلِيقِ بِالْمَحَبَّةِ وَفِي التَّعْلِيقِ بِالْحَيْضِ لَا تَطْلُقُ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ – تَعَالَى – كَذَا فِي التَّبْيِينِ.

Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.423-4, Dār Al-Fiqr)

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Alimah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham