Fatwa ID: 03988

Answered by: Ustadha Umm Abdullah

Question

Assalamu Alaykum

I was reading about kinaaya (metaphorical) divorce when I was on break at work.

When got back to work, I started a discussion with a friend who has an Arabic background. In our discussion, he uttered the following sentence: تقلع الطائرة which means ‘the plane took off’. I repeated the phrase with a slight mistake of pronunciation like; 'tatalaqhaa tayra’ and thinking that I’ve pronounced as it should be.

I don't know if I thought about the metaphor of divorce before or after my pronunciation but I know that I thought about it.
I don't know also about what the intention was at that time because just after the conversation I forgot everything, the only thing I remember is the pronunciation.

Our conversation was not about divorce at all.

My questions are:
– Is ‘tatalaqhaa tayra’ a metaphorical divorce?
– Is ‘the plane took off’ (what I thought I was saying) a metaphor of divorce?
– If one of the two above questions is a yes, then what about the doubt on the intention?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

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

Answer:

Words that affect divorce have two types:

1. Sareeh (clear wordings): To clearly express the wordings of divorce, such as to say “I divorce you” or “you are divorced”. These words come into effect whether or not one has the intention of divorce.

2. Kinayah (ambiguous words): To ambiguously express wordings of divorce. Kinayah words do not come into effect unless one intends divorce by them. If the intention of divorce is present, one talaq (revocable divorce) comes into effect.[1]

The words you uttered are not a metaphor for divorce.

Having thoughts or intentions in the mind about divorce, but not saying or vocalizing those thoughts, does not result in a divorce.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Ustadha Umm Abdullah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham