Fatwa ID: 05310
Answered by: Mufti Muhammad Imad Ali
Question
If a person performs Zihaar (compare wife with a blood relative woman body part) and had not paid kaffarah or paid a portion of it, simply before paying it completely if he done the same mistake again, will he have to give kaffarah two times or he must pay a kaffarah just once.?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Zihaar is a term denoting a custom of the Arabs in the days of ignorance. In the case of disagreement with their wives they use to say to them, “you are for me like the back of my mother.” After saying this, they use to take their wives as their real mothers in being prohibited for them, and the ties of marriage were held to have been broken for good. (Ma’riful Qur’an pg.: 345 vol: 8).
The ruling of Zihaar in the Shariah is as follows:
If one said to his wife that she was equal to his mother, sister, daughter, or his mother’s sister, etc then it should be judged as to what he meant by it. If he meant in terms of respect, age, or appearance she is equal to his sister then it is immaterial also if he said is without any purpose or aim it’s immaterial as well and of no account.
If one said it and meant divorce, then it is one Talaq Baain and if he did not intend divorce but just meant that though she is his wife, he has forbidden upon himself to do sexual intercourse with her.
The Kaffarah of Zihaar is like the breaking of fast Kaffarah, however, if one is incapable of doing so then there are other alternative ways such as:
- Feed 60 poor people to the fill for 1 day (2 meals).
- Feed 1 poor person for 60 days (2 meals a day).
- Give 60 people 1.6kg of wheat of its value in cash or food.
- Give 1 poor person 1.6kg of wheat, rice, or grains of its value in cash for 60 days.
Regarding your question, it depends on what you mean by ‘same mistake again’ if one uttered the same words again then a separate kaffarah will become necessary and if by saying ‘the same mistake again’ one meant the action of intercourse again then there’s no separate kaffarah.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Mufti Muhammad Imad Ali
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
