Fatwa ID: 05198

Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah

Question

About a year or so ago my wife and I had an argument. It became very heated and to threaten her I said “I’ll divorce you” or I might have said, “I’ll divorce you right now”. I clearly remember I said this as a threat as in I meant to say “I can give a divorce right now” but in my anger, I said it as I will give divorce. I did not have the intention of actually giving the divorce.

Will divorce take place in this instance?

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

Answer:

وإنْ دَخَلَتْ عَلى الزَّمانِ فَإنْ كانَ ماضِيًا يَقَعُ الطَّلاقُ فِي الحالِ نَحْوُ أنْ يَقُولَ أنْتِ طالِقٌ فِي الأمْسِ أوْ فِي العامِ الماضِي لِأنَّ إنْشاءَ الطَّلاقِ فِي الزَّمانِ الماضِي لا يُتَصَوَّرُ فَيُجْعَلُ إخْبارًا أوْ تَلْغُو الإضافَةُ إلى الماضِي ويَبْقى قَوْلُهُ أنْتِ طالِقٌ فَيَقَعُ فِي الحالِ وكَذَلِكَ إذا كانَ حاضِرًا بِأنْ قالَ أنْتِ طالِقٌ فِي هَذا الوَقْتِ أوْ فِي هَذِهِ السّاعَةِ يَقَعُ فِي الحالِ، وإنْ كانَ مُسْتَقْبَلًا لا يَقَعُ حَتّى يَأْتِيَ بِأنْ قالَ أنْتِ طالِقٌ فِي غَدٍ أوْ فِي الشَّهْرِ الآتِي لِأنَّ الطَّلاقَ يَحْتَمِلُ الِاخْتِصاصَ بِوَقْتٍ دُونَ وقْتٍ فَإذا جُعِلَ الغَدُ ظَرْفًا لَهُ لا يَقَعُ قَبْلَهُ

If the words of divorce are from the past tense, then the divorce has occurred in the present moment immediately such as if a man says, “you are divorce yesterday or last year”, because the establishment of divorce in time past is not imaginable hence renders news, or it will cancel the referral towards the past and his words will remain, “you are divorced”, hence it will occur in the present. Likewise, if it is of present tense and he says, “you are divorced at this time or at this moment in time”, the divorce will occur at the present tense, and if the words of divorce are of the future tense, it will not occur until he says words such as, “you are divorced tomorrow or in the next month” because divorce takes place with precise wordings at a certain time without times, so if tomorrow is made a circumstance for it, it does not happen before it.[1]

Hence, in your case:

If you warned your wife of giving her a divorce in the future, i.e. “I will give you a divorce” then the divorce will not occur, as the words of future tense.

However, if you said “I’ll divorce you” and you intended immediately of divorce, then one Talaq Bain has taken place, you can revoke the divorce before the expiry of the three months period (iddat). This could be by saying “I take you back as my wife” or to be physically intimate with your wife etc.

However, if you intended for three then three will take place and it will be irrevocable. Keep Allah SWT in your mind and judge yourself as Talaq is a major issue in Islam and Allah (سبحانه و تعالى)knows what is in your heart.

“I can give a divorce right now”, no divorce has taken place as you are threatening your wife by reminding her that you have the right to divorce her as a husband.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1] Badais Sanai’, 25/3, Darul Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, 1406 H