Fatwa ID: 02826

Answered by: Maulana Imran Mughal​

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

If a husband is away from his wife since the last 6 months due to the family disputes and now they are deciding to end this marriage either by talaq or by khula as husband was already in illegitimate relationships with many other women and it has been proven, then what would be the rulings of iddah for the woman?

She is already untouched and out of any sort of contact from husband for the last 6 months?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

As long as the marriage has been consummated the iddah will be binding on the wife. ^[1]

The reason for this is that the ruling will remain even if one of the wisdoms of the ruling (which is that the woman is known to not be pregnant from the previous husband) are not to be found.

Mufti Taqi Uthmani provides an easy modern-day example for these types of scenarios. Imagine a car that has stopped at a red light, the wisdom behind so is to prevent accidents. Now imagine if that car stopped at a red light in the middle of the night where there was no-one else to be found, according to the law he still has to stop, regardless of whether an accident can happen or not.

Additionally, our understanding of one wisdom is not enough to not act upon the rule, for there could be a number of wisdoms behind this ruling which are known to Allah Himself, as He is the All-Knower and All-Wise.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Imran Mughal

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

^[1]Fatawa Hindiyyah (Beirut: DKI Publishers, 2000), 1:552