يَاأَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا طَلَّقْتُمْ النِّسَاءَ فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ وَأَحْصُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ لَا تُخْرِجُوهُنَّ مِنْ بُيُوتِهِنَّ وَلَا يَخْرُجْنَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ وَتِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ لَا تَدْرِي لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ يُحْدِثُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَمْرًا فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ فَارِقُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَى عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الشَّهَادَةَ لِلَّهِ ذَلِكُمْ يُوعَظُ بِهِ مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنْ الْمَحِيضِ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ إِنْ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَاللَّائِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ وَأُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَنْ يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْرًا ذَلِكَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ أَنزَلَهُ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ وَيُعْظِمْ لَهُ أَجْرًا أَسْكِنُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ سَكَنتُمْ مِنْ وُجْدِكُمْ وَلَا تُضَارُّوهُنَّ لِتُضَيِّقُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ وَإِنْ كُنَّ أُولَاتِ حَمْلٍ فَأَنْفِقُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ حَتَّى يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ فَإِنْ أَرْضَعْنَ لَكُمْ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَأْتَمِرُوا بَيْنَكُمْ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَإِنْ تَعَاسَرْتُمْ فَسَتُرْضِعُ لَهُ أُخْرَى لِيُنفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ فَلْيُنفِقْ مِمَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا مَا آتَاهَا سَيَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ عُسْرٍ يُسْرًا(65 :1-7)

O Prophet! When you people divorce your wives, divorce them according to their waiting periods, and count accurately this waiting period, and fear God your Lord. [During this waiting period], do not turn them out of their houses, nor should they [themselves] leave, except in case they are guilty of some open lewdness. These are the bounds set by Allah and [you should know that] those who transgress the bounds of Allah, it is they who wrong their own souls. You know not that God might thereafter create new circumstances. [Divorce your wives in this very manner]. Thus when they approach the end of their waiting period, either take them back on equitable terms or part with them on equitable terms. And [whether you want to keep them or part with them, in both cases] call to witness two honest people from among you. And [O Witnesses!] Establish this testimony for God. It is this thing to which those are exhorted who believe in God and in the Last Day. And [if] those who fear God [encounter any difficulty], God will find a way out for them and will provide them from where they cannot even imagine. And those who put their trust in God, for them Allah is enough [to help them]. God is sure to bring about His designs. God has set a measure for all things. And those of your women who have ceased menstruating and they also who have not menstruated [in spite if reaching its age], if you have any doubts about them, then their waiting period is three months. And the waiting period of pregnant women is till they deliver the child. God will ease the hardship of [those among you] who fear Him. Such is the directive of God He has revealed to you. He who fears God, God shall brush away his sins and shall richly reward him. [During the waiting period], lodge these women in your homes according to your means. And do not harass them to make life intolerable for them. And if they are pregnant, spend on them until they deliver the child. And if they suckle your [child], give them their remuneration and decide this matter according to the custom after mutual consultation. And if you find yourselves in difficulty, another woman can suckle [the child]. Let the man of means spend according to his means and he whose resources are restricted, spend according to what God has given him. God does not burden a person with more than He has given him. [Rest assured], after some difficulty, God will soon grant relief. (65:1-7)

If it becomes impossible for a husband and wife to get along with one another, there exists in divine religions the option of separation from one another. In religious parlance, this separation is called طلاق (talaq: divorce). As per the traditions of Abraham’s religion, the Arabs were fully aware of it in the jahiliyyah period. No doubt certain deviations and innovations had found way in their concept, however, a study of their history reveals that the law of divorce that existed in their society was almost the same as what Islam presented.[1]In the above quoted verses of Surah Talaq, the Almighty has revived with certain additions and amendments that very law. Certain details of this law are also mentioned in Surah Baqarah and Surah Ahzab, but a little deliberation shows that the basic verses in this regard are those of Surah Talaq stated above.

i) Before Divorce:

Before circumstances reach an extent that divorce remains the only option, it should be the intense desire of every person to keep intact the marital relationship as far as possible. On these very grounds, in Surah Nisa the Almighty has permitted the husband to reprimand his wife if she is guilty of challenging his authority. However, if all efforts of reformation fail and it becomes evident that this relationship cannot remain intact, the Almighty has asked Muslims to make a last ditch effort: the relatives of the couple, their clan and tribe and other well wishers should come forward and use their influence to set right the situation. The procedure outlined by the Quran in this regard is that one arbitrator should be appointed from the husband’s family and another from the wife’s family. Both these arbitrators should try to reconcile the two in the hope that what the husband and wife could not accomplish themselves would be accomplished by the elders and well wishers of the two families. The Quran says:

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا إِنْ يُرِيدَا إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقْ اللَّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا خَبِيرًا(35:4)

And if you fear a breach between the two, appoint arbitrators, one from his family, and the other from hers; if [the husband and wife] wish for peace, Allah will create harmony between them: for Allah has full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things (4:35)

The last words of the verse subtly urge the couple to benefit from this scheme. If, instead of severing ties, they wish to create harmony among themselves they should keep in mind that the Almighty is benevolent. He will help them in redeeming the situation.

ii) The Right to Divorce:

The surah begins with the words: إِذَا طَلَّقْتُمْ النِّسَاءَ (when you [people] divorce your wives). In this verse, in the subsequent ones also and in other verses of the Quran where the directive of divorce is mentioned, the husband has been regarded as the initiator of divorce. Moreover, in 2:229, the words used by the Quran for returning the wealth of the husband and thereby seeking divorce from him are فِيمَا افْتَدَتْ بِهِ (what the woman gives in ransom). These words bear clear evidence to the fact that the shariah has granted the husband the right to divorce. The reason for this is quite obvious. A husband has always been charged with the responsibility of protecting his wife and providing for her because God has given him the natural ability to fulfil these responsibilities. On these very grounds, the Quran has regarded him to be the qawwam (head of the family) and explicitly stated: وَ لِلِّرجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَه (and the husbands hold a degree of superiority over them). Consequently, both the nature of the responsibility and the respect for his position entail that he be given the right to divorce. I have explained earlier that the institution of family is an essential requirement of a human being. Just as entrusting two parties with different responsibilities but granting them equal rights to establish an organization or to dismantle it cannot keep that institution intact, the institution of family also cannot remain intact. Consequently, if a lady, in lieu of her own protection and subsistence and those of her children, has given herself in the custody of a man through a contract, then the right to annul this contract cannot be given to the lady without the permission of the husband. This is in accordance with justice and fairness. If any other option is adopted, then this would be against justice, and would inevitably result in the dismemberment of the institution of family.

As a consequence of the above analysis, if a wife wants to separate from her husband, she cannot divorce him; on the contrary, she will demand divorce from him. In general circumstances, it is hoped that every gentleman, seeing that there is no other way out, would accept this demand. However, if this does not happen to be the case, a wife can turn to the court of law. When the state of affairs deteriorates to this extent, then there is a precedence set by the Prophet (sws) in this regard for the judicial forums: if it becomes certain that a wife has an aversion to her husband and does not want to live with him any more, then the court should order the husband to divorce her and if he wants he can take back all the wealth and property that he gifted to her except the mahr (dower).

Ibn ‘Abbas narrates that the wife of Thabit ibn Qays once came to the Prophet (sws) and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I do not have any complaint regarding his character and person; however, I fear that I will lose my faith.” [2] When the Prophet heard this complaint, he said: “Would you return his orchard?” She showed her consent. At this, the Prophet (sws) directed Thabit to accept the orchard and separate her by pronouncing one divorce sentence. [3]

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

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[1] Dr Jawad Ali, Al-Mufassal fī Tārīkhi’l-‘Arab Qabla’l-Islām, 2nd ed., vol. 5, (Beirut: Dāru’l-‘Ilm li’l-Malāliyyīn, 1986), p. 548

[2]. The meaning of this sentence as understood from other narratives in which this incident has been reported is that she did not like the looks of Thabit and that if in spite of that she persisted to live with him, she would not have been able to follow the directives the Almighty has given a Muslim wife viz. being faithful to her husband and guarding her own chastity.

[3]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 943, (nos. 5273, 5277).