4 Islamic articles on: divorce in Islam

Table of contents for the topic divorce in Islam
  1. Is talaq (divorce) valid if the husband hasn’t paid the full mahr?
  2. Triple talaq (divorce) counts as only one talaq
  3. Can a wife demand her owed living allowance after divorce?
  4. Can a Muslim woman divorce without the husband’s approval?

IslamQA: Is talaq (divorce) valid if the husband hasn’t paid the full mahr?

Akhi Does saying talaaq 3 times together make it valid even if the husband hasnt paid the full mehr?

The triple talaq counts as only one talaq according to the opinion I prefer, and it may not even count at all if it is not done at the correct time. Please see my answer: Triple talaq (divorce) counts as only one talaq

I cannot find anything on whether having paid mahr or not affects divorce. As far as I can find that has no relevance, but the husband must pay the full mahr whether they divorce or not if the couple have been sexually intimate.

IslamQA: Triple talaq (divorce) counts as only one talaq

Assalamualaikum I want to know what is the Islamic stand on triple talaaq. Also,can a woman include a condition which forbids her husband from taking another wife while he's married to her in the marriage contract?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

On the issue of the “triple talaq” where a man says or writes “you’re divorced” three times to his wife, I prefer Ibn Taymiyya’s opinion that this counts as only one divorce. Regardless of how the talaq is worded, a man can only divorce his wife once.

Also note that talaq is not valid if the woman is menstruating, or if she is not menstruating but her husband has had sexual intimacy with her after her menstruation. The only way to make a valid talaq that counts in Islamic law is to say it during a period of “purity”, meaning:

  1. The woman should not be menstruating
  2. They shouldn’t have had sexual intimacy since her last menstruation

So if a man utters a triple talaq, or one talaq, at a time that does not satisfy the above two conditions, then no talaq has taken place.

As for the question of adding to the marriage contract the condition that the husband should not get another wife while married to her, then this is permitted. If he gets another wife, this does not nullify the marriage, but it means the wife has the full right to demand divorce and get her full dowry.

References:

IslamQA: Can a wife demand her owed living allowance after divorce?

Salam alaykum. May I ask? How is the law about a wife who demands divorce (khulu'), then May she collect a living allowance that has never been given by her husband? During the 6 months of marriage, her husband only gave her a living allowance once. Syukron . Jazaakallah khayr

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

According to the Mālikī, Shafiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools the nafaqa (living allowance”) is a debt on the husband that he is required to pay unless the wife forgives the debt. This means that if the husband fails to pay it for a certain number of months, the wife is allowed to request full payment (I am not sure if the divorce affects this, it appears like it should not). The Ḥanafīs however say that it is not a debt unless the couple agreed together to consider it a debt.

So according to the aforementioned three schools your husband would have to pay the living allowance that he owes you. I am not exactly sure about the Ḥanafī position in your specific case.

It would be best if both of you agree to ask a scholar or imam that both of you respect and see what he says regarding your case.

Source:

IslamQA: Can a Muslim woman divorce without the husband’s approval?

Is it true that a woman can’t divorce a man unless he says “we are divorced”? What if the woman has ood reasons wanting to get divorced

In classical Islamic law while a man had the right to divorce his wife of his own initiative, a woman had to get her husband’s approval, and if not, a judge’s approval. The judge can either be a government-appointed judge, or it can be two people, one from each of their families. Ibn Qudama (a famous Hanbali jurist) says that if a woman fears that due to her dislike for the marriage she cannot carry out her duties as a wife, then she has the right to divorce.

So the difference was that a man could divorce without a judge or judges’ approval, while a woman could not. This has been recently challenged, such as by the Kuwaiti scholar and intellectual Khaled Abou El-Fadl, who believes that a woman should have equal rights to divorce. I have not studied divorce sufficiently to know who is right in the debate.

Regarding what you said about his saying “we are divorced”, that is part of the formal divorce ceremony done before witnesses. But if he does not approve of the divorce, then his approval is not needed; the judge or judges can force an end to the marriage based on the woman’s request regardless of the husband’s opinion.

Sources: Essay by Al-Qaradawi | Fatwa 1 | Fatwa 2