Islam Question and Answer - Divorcing (talaaq) three times based on a belief that it is obligatory

Fri 14/7/1434 - 24/5/2013

» How can a seeker of knowledge make a schedule to organise his time?.

» After becoming Muslim, should she ask those who were her friends in the past to remove pictures of her that they have on Facebook?.

» Announcing wedding invitations in the mosque.

» Does carrying a child on whom there is some najaasah (impurity) render the prayer and wudoo’ invalid?.

» If someone loses his wudoo’ whilst praying and goes and does wudoo’, can he resume his prayer from where he left off or should he start all over again?.

» Is there a specific age at which animals may be slaughtered?.

» He does not have any children and he wants to give his wealth to his wife and his brother’s daughter and donate the rest to charity.

» The wisdom behind the Prophet’s marrying more than four wives.

» Is it permissible to buy the house that was bequeathed to some of the heirs and not others without their consent?.

» Wife's Prayers When Visiting Husband Living in Another State.

182868

Fiqh of the family » Divorce

Divorcing (talaaq) three times based on a belief that it is obligatory

en - ar

Share |

Me and my wife have had a rough couple of years. We got divorced when we both had little knowledge of this religion. For the first time she is willing to work out are marriage and I thank Allah that she has been thinking about this. It is imperative that this question be answered for me because it involves a family being united or seperated. When we first got seperated someone told her that you have to give talaq 3 times, so i gave her the first talaq willingly from my heart. After that we tried to work it out, But someone told her that it is obligatory to give the 2nd talaq even if one does not want to after 3 months and a 3rd one is obligatory after 6th months. So I was angry and didnt bother researching and asking about this. So when the 3 months were over i gave the second talaq without really wanting to but i thought i had to. When the 6 month came, i thought it was a sin upon me if i did not give it to her because this is what a view ignorant people told her and myself. So i waited longer then the 6 months sad that i was forced to give her the last one knowing she will not be available to me unless she marries, so out of anger and sadness i gave her the third talaq because i was told it was obligatory on me to do so. After that we were apart for a year since then but i always wanted to work it out. When i started studying fiqh under shayukh and in the masjid they told me to relate to them how i did my talaq. I told 3 or 4 people and they said subhanallah you may still be married if you thought you had to give the third. So now i relate my question to a proper scholar. We both now want to work it out, but this one last steps in the way. We live far apart now and I havent seen my son in 2 years because of no travel money and the only way to see him is to live with her and him again. So I wanted to know if she is still lawful for me because we both want to work it out. No shaykh has answered my question and i need an answer quickly, and i fear i may follow my desires if i do not get a response because i havent found any answer related to my situation.

Praise be to Allah.

If you only uttered the word of divorce (talaaq) on the second or third occasion because you believed that it was obligatory, as you had been told, then this talaaq does not count as such according to the more correct opinion, because if a person bases his talaaq on a reason, then finds out that that reason was not valid, his talaaq does not count as such.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We have received your letter in which you ask about your divorce (talaaq) of your wife and you said that you heard something about her and you got angry and divorced her three times (threefold talaaq), then after that you found that the news you had heard was false and you became certain that it was not true, and you are asking whether this divorced counts as such or not, because it turned out that she is innocent of what was said about her.

Answer:

Praise be to Allah.

If the situation is as mentioned and you only divorced her based on this false news, then the correct scholarly opinion is that this divorce does not count as such. Based on that, the divorce is invalid and your wife is permissible to you on the basis of the first marriage contract. There is no need to go through the process of taking her back or do a new marriage contract.

End quote from Fataawa Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem, 11/ question no. 3159