Question

If a husband said “the marriage is over,” or the marriage is “formally ending” will divorce take place? 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

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

Answer:

In the Islamic Shariah, for talaq to take place, it should be uttered in the past or present tense. If the words were uttered in the future tense, talaq will not occur. 

In the aforementioned case scenario when he said, “the marriage is over,” Islamically the sentence is a “Khabar” i.e. something which has happened in the past and for talaq to happen, you need an “inshaa” sentence i.e. to make something happen.

Therefore, there are two possibilities to this sentence.

If the husband meant talaq from the above-mentioned words, then one talaq baain will happen. If he meant something else, then talaq will not occur.

Similarly, the words “formally ending” are also a “Khabar” and will have the above-mentioned ruling.

Only Allah knows best 

Written by Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham