Fatwa ID:05339

Answered by: Mufti Javed ibn Nazir Kachhalia

Question

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah,

Insha Allah you can help. Due to various problems and a lack of change in the situation, the wife left and asked for a divorce from her husband. The husband refused and would not give it as he felt they should try in the marriage.

But he was pushed by both families, that he would have to sign a letter which the wife wrote and sent to him. He told me he would not accept it because he was forced to sign it under pressure. As soon as it was signed, he asked his wife to come back and work at the marriage. There has been some time and the iddah period has ended. The wife has had time to think and see marriages need time and problems can be resolved.

Is our marriage is still valid as rujoo was made and request to come back? I would like to see if we can make our marriage work or is this a divorce? Did he sign his name once on the paper? The word bain was added onto the paper which he didn’t understand what it meant. Or what can they do?

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

Answer

In regards to your query;

It’s written in ‘Ahsanul Fatawa’:

‘When a person has been forced to write or sign on divorce paper the divorce won’t take place until a person utters the words of divorce or divorces his wife by uttering it from his mouth’ (Ahsanul Fatawa Vol 5, Pg 165, Yahya Book Depot)

The above was extracted from ‘Raddul Mukhtar, Vol 2, Pg 45)

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Mufti Javed ibn Nazir Kachhalia

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham