Fatwa ID: 08796

Answered by: Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Question:

My husband said he wants to divorce me and that I am free from his side. Does that mean he’s divorced me? Is it still okay for me to live with him?

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

Answer:

Implicit Words (Kināyah)

Kināyah refers to indirect or ambiguous phrases that could imply divorce but may also have other meanings. These words do not result in an automatic divorce and require intention or a Talaq context for divorce to occur. Raddul Muhtār states:

According to the jurists (is whatever that was not stipulated for it) i.e. divorce (and has the possibility of it [divorce]) and other than it.^[1]

Fatawa Hindiyyah explains:

Divorce does not occur with them except with intention or by the indication of a situation.^[2]

Free From My Side

The phrase “free from my side” is a Kināyah phrase, as it could be used to imply divorce or mean something else. If your husband intended to divorce you through these words, one Talāq Bāin would occur. If he intended something else, Talāq would not occur.

Reconciliation and Remarriage

If this is the third Talāq, you would need to marry and consummate with someone else before the possibility of reconciliation. If it is the first or second Talāq, both of you would need to go through a Tajdīd An-Nikāh (renewal of the marriage) after the ‘Iddat with a new Mahr if you want to remarry.

References:

[41] (كِنَايَتُهُ) عِنْدَ الْفُقَهَاءِ (مَا لَمْ يُوضَعْ لَهُ) أَيْ الطَّلَاقِ (وَاحْتَمَلَهُ) وَغَيْرَهُ

(Radd Al-Muhtār, vol. 3, pg. 296, Darul Fikr Beirut)

[2] لَا يَقَعُ بِهَا الطَّلَاقُ إلَّا بِالنِّيَّةِ أَوْ بِدَلَالَةِ حَالٍ

(Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyya, vol. 1, pg. 374, Al-Maṭba’ah Al-Kubrā Al-Amīriyyah)

Only Allah (عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ) knows best.

Written by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham