Can a wife divorce her husband in Islam? Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God, the mercy that is dedicated to the worlds. It is from Islam’s tolerance to make a solution to all marital and other problems and to make every problem a way out for it and to set the rules and laws for all of that, including khul’, or in other words, the obligatory divorce.
So in fact, divorce in Islam is only from the man’s side only. But when there are some problems and matters and in certain conditions, Islam legislates for the wife what is called khul’ or obligatory divorce. In the sense that by virtue of the judge or court, this husband must divorce his wife and this is On terms we will get to know together.
How a wife divorce her husband in Islam?
It has no other way than one, which is Al-Khula.
Khul’ is when a woman redeems herself from her husband in return for the money that she pays to him, which is the dowry or the that the husband paid her at the time of the marriage contract between them.
What are the conditions for this khul’?
The origin in Islamic law is that asking a woman for divorce is lawful and permissible. As it is proven from the legal evidence that permits it, except that the ruling on khul’ varies according to its conditions and its causes, as follows,
- Permissible- It is permissible if the woman hates her husband. Because of his character, lack of religion, old age, or poor cohabitation with him, and she fears that this hatred will make her fall short in his right, so the wife may then ask for divorce from her husband in return for compensation that she pays him; And the evidence for the permissibility of khul’ is his saying,
(فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا يُقِيمَا حُدُودَ اللَّهِ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا فِيمَا افْتَدَتْ بِهِ ۗ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا ۚ وَمَن يَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَ اللَّهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ)
which mean(And if you fear that they will not observe the limits of God, then there is no blame on them for what she ransoms with).
- Disliked- Khul’ is disliked if the wife wants to separate despite the fact that the relationship between them is good, and this type of khul’ is disliked
- Forbidden- Khul’ may be forbidden. This is in the event that the wife asks to leave her husband without any problem or a need that compels her to do so, for example, if there is a hardship that she may bear in the request for khul’. If this is not achieved in the khul’ request, the wife is forbidden to ask for separation from her husband. and in the hadith, the messenger of Allah (PBUH)say: (Any woman who asks her husband for divorce, without harm on her, the smell of Paradise is forbidden for her).
- Permissibility- The husband’s request from the wife to quit herself is considered permissible if he sees something from her that calls him to do so, if she is a disobedient, an adulteress, or does not perform what God has enjoined upon her, such as prayer, fasting, and so on; Until he resorts to asking for divorce in return for compensation to be paid to him.
Allah Almighty say(do not mistreat them to make them return some of the dowries as a ransom for divorce unless they are found guilty of adultery).
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is the husband’s consent important?
The principle is that khul’ does not take place without the consent of the husband,butSome jurists, ancient and modern, excluded from this principle some cases of discord and conflict between spouses, and they permitted khul’ without the consent of the husband, either through the ruling of the Sharia judge if it is proven that he has what necessitates divorce.
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The first khul’ in Islam
The first divorce that occurred in Islam was the divorce of Jamila bint Abdullah bin Ubay, the wife of Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas, as Ibn Abbas said, may God be pleased with them: “The wife of Thabit bin Qais came to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: O Messenger of God, Thabit bin Qais. I do not blame him for religion or morals, but I hate infidelity in Islam, so the Messenger of God said, Do you return his garden to him? she said yes, then He said to (PBUH)Qais accept the garden then divorce her.
What is the waiting period(`ida) for a woman who has been divorced( khul’herself) from her husband?
Most of the people of knowledge, including Imam Ahmad, Al-Shafi’i, and Malik, went to say that the waiting period for a divorced woman (peel off a woman) is three menstrual cycles, like the waiting period for a divorced woman, which is what Al-Thawri and Ishaq.
While some scholars have held that the waiting period is one menstrual cycle, and it was narrated on the authority of Othman bin Affan, Ibn Omar, and Ibn Abbas – may God be pleased with them – and it is also a saying on the authority of Ahmad, and Ibn al-Mundhir and others said it.
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What are the rights of a wife who divorce her husband in Islam?
There are various opinions of scholars regarding the right of the mukhala’ah in terms of maintenance and housing, and this is explained in the following ,
- The fall of the right to alimony and housing, which is the view of the Malikis, and Abu Hanifa, and the Malikis excluded the pregnant woman; She still has the right to alimony.
- The rights of a divorced woman do not forfeit by khul’ unless the khul’ formula explicitly includes that, and this was based on an agreement between them, and the Hanbalis and the majority of Hanafis have held that view.
- Proving the right of the divorced woman to housing without alimony, which is the view of Al-Shafi’i and Al-Laythi, and it is the saying of Malik bin Anas; For He, Allah Almighty, said: (Do not drive them out of their homes, nor do they go out unless they commit a clear indecency).
- Proving the right of the divorced woman to alimony without housing, which is what Imam Ibn Hazm went to.
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laws of khul` for countries
The law of khul` in Egypt
The wife waives all her rights from dowry, the maintenance of `ida and the alimony of pleasure(Mut’ah), and she returns the dowry, and also the custody of the children is not forfeited, and the alimony of the children, if any, is not forfeited.
Mut’ah is compensation for the divorced woman for the pain she suffered as a result of the divorce and to remove the description of the abuse from her and as a testimony that the divorce is not a bug in her, but rather an excuse that pertains to the divorced person. … The reason for the obligation of mut’ah is the arbitrary divorce of the husband, and the wisdom of its legislation is to redress the divorced woman from the husband’s abuse of his right to divorce.
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The law of khul` in Morocco
The Moroccan law of khul’ considered that khul’ is a contract with the consent of the spouses, the main subject of which is khul’ in exchange for an allowance that the wife pays to the husband, and granting the wife the right to take back what she took off herself if she proves that her divorce from her husband was the result of coercion or harm from the husband.
Khul` in the Emirates
The wife relinquishes the delayed dowry, and the wife returns to the husband the dowry she obtained upon marriage, the alimony for the children in the event of khul’ is not forfeited, and the wife’s custody of her children continues after the khul’ ruling.
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Conclusion
Khul` is what a woman pay to her husband for the purpose of divorcing her, and this has detailed provisions. If the conditions are met, then it is an obligatory divorce by a court ruling. Otherwise, each issue has its own ruling according to what the judge deems for him.
