Fatwa ID: 02804

Answered by: Aalimah Nasima Umm Hamza​

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

I have sent an email earlier on today subject khula and mahr. I also want to inform you that I had applied for civil divorce due to unacceptable behaviour, when he received the petition he signed it and did not defend it however on the form he wrote "I disagree with the allegations but do not wish to defend the divorce" than before receiving the decree absolute he appealed to the court asking for the decree absolute to be made as he is seeing another woman and wants to marry her so does this end our nikah or do I still need to apply for a khula and if my nikah is ended when do I start my iddah from? I received my decree absolute on the 4th of September. 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

In normal circumstances the divorce is pronounced verbally and clearly, such as ‘I divorce you’ or ‘you are divorced’, and is immediately enforced. Because we do not have Islamic courts, this can cause some confusion and difficulty. It is certainly the better course of action to seek a verbal divorce or to confirm that your husband accepted to divorce you.

However, if the husband signs or writes words of divorce then this is accepted as a divorce, and the iddah will start from the time when the divorce was written down or signed. [1]

Therefore, the divorce papers issued by the civil courts are deemed effective so long as your husband also agreed to, and signed the papers.

[1] Raddul Muhtaar, Kitaab at-Talaq, V.3, pp. 246-247, Darul Fikr Beirut

Only Allah Ta’ala knows best

Answered By Aalimah Nasima Umm Hamza

Checked and approved by Ustadha Sabrina al-Faarsiyyah

Darul Ilm Birmingham