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Chapter
21:
Divorce (Hadith -- The
Traditions):
(Note:
The superscript-numbers [e.g., intention2]
that
appear in the text [in
pink]
refer to the numbers of the explanatory footnotes that
appear at the end of each Hadith
[Tradition].)
1
Ibn `Umar reported,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"With Allah, the most
detestable of all things permitted is divorce."
1
(AD. 13 : 3.)
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1
This hadith shows that divorce should be resorted
to only in cases of extreme hardship. A Muslim is
required to face the difficulties of the married
life, and to avoid disruption of family relations,
so long as possible, turning to divorce only as a
last resort.
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2
Thauban said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Whatever woman asks for
divorce from her husband without any harm, the sweet
odour of paradise shall be forbidden to
her."2
(Ah. 5, 277.)
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2
This hadith recognises the right of the wife to
demand a divorce, so much so that she may demand it
even without any harm being caused to her, though
she is told that in such a case she will displease
God.
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3
Ibn `Abbas reported,
The wife of Thabit ibn Qais came to the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, and said, O Messenger of
Allah! I do not find fault in Thabit ibn Qais regarding his
morals or faith, but I hate disbelief in Islam. The
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him :
"Wilt thou return to him his orchard?" She said, Yes. So the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said (to Thabit) : "Accept the orchard and divorce
her."3
(B. 68 : 12.)
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3
In this case, the wife had no specific complaint
against her husband, and there was neither
desertion, nor ill-treatment. She said that she
could not pull on with him, and her right to have a
divorce was not refused. But she was required to
return the orchard which the husband had given to
her as dowry. This is technically called
khul`, lit., undoing of a knot. The
words I hate disbelief in Islam mean that she could
not pull on with him as a faithful Muslim wife
should; according to another version the words are
la utiqu-hu, i.e., I cannot bear
him.
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4
Ibn `Umar reported,
He divorced his wife while she was menstruating. `Umar
mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, so the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be on him, became displeased on
account of this and said:
"He should take her back,
then keep her until she is clean, then menstruates and
(again) becomes clean; if it then appears to him that he
should divorce her, he should divorce her while she is in
a clean condition; before he approaches her. This is the
`iddah as Allah has commanded
it."4
(B. 65 : 65.)
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4
This hadith relates to procedure in the matter of
divorce. It shows that divorce is not effective
unless it is pronounced when the wife is clean.
`Iddah, or the period during which a woman
must wait before remarrying, is stated in v. 4 (2 :
228) to be three quru.' The word
quru' is plural of qar' which
signifies the entering from the state of cleanness
into a state of menstruation, and is in normal
cases about four weeks.
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5
Ibn `Abbas said,
The (procedure of) divorce in the time of the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, in that of
Abu Bakr and for two years in the caliphate of `Umar ibn
al-Khattab, was that divorce uttered thrice (on one
occasion) was considered as one divorce. Then `Umar said,
People have made haste in a matter in which there was
moderation for them; so we may make it take effect with
regard to them. So he made it take effect with regard to
them.5
(Ah. I, 314.)
6
Mahmud ibn Labid said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, was informed about a man who divorced his wife,
divorcing (her) three times together, so he stood up in
displeasure and said:
"Is the Book of Allah being
sported with while I am in your midst?" (Ns. 27 :
6.)
7
Rukanah ibn `Abd Yazid reported,
He divorced his wife Suhaimah thrice and informed the
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, about it
and said, I call Allah to witness that I intended only a
single (divorce). The Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Dost thou call Allah to
witness that thou didst not intend but a single
(divorce)?" He said, Yes, I call Allah to witness that I
did not intend but a single (divorce). So the Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
returned her back to him, and he divorced her a second
time in the time of `Umar, and a third time in the time
of `Uthman.6
(AD. 13 : 14.)
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6
This hadith and h. 5 show that divorce uttered on
one occasion, whether uttered once or thrice -- in
fact, any number of times, -- counts only as one
divorce, and this was made clear by the Holy
Prophet himself; while h. 6 shows that pronouncing
divorce thrice on a single occasion is un-Islamic.
Even the jurists call it talaq bid'i (an
innovation), but they consider it irrevocable in
terms of 2 : 230; as these hadith show, the Holy
Prophet did not consider it such. The procedure of
talaq according to Islam is laid down
clearly in the Holy Qur'an. It is to be pronounced
once while the woman is in a clean condition, and
it is followed by a period of waiting, called the
`iddah (65 : 1), during which the parties
may be reconciled to each other, or after which the
parties may marry each other again (2 : 228, 232).
Such a divorce, called a revocable divorce, may be
pronounced twice (2 : 229), the option for
reconciliation or remarriage being with the
parties; but if it is uttered a third time, it
becomes irrevocable as laid down in 2 : 230.
`Umar's object in making effective three divorces
pronounced on one occasion (h. 5) was to warn the
people that they would have to take the evil
consequences of following an un-Islamic practice,
but the result is just the contrary of what he
intended. This hadith shows that whenever a woman
was divorced, whether the divorce was on that
occasion pronounced once or thrice, it was a single
act of divorce and revocable. Divorce became
irrevocable only when two revocable divorces were
first pronounced, hence the occasion for the third
divorce spoken of in 2 : 230 was a rare
event.
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8
`Ali said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, cursed the man who committed halalah and the one
for whom halalah was committed.7
(AD. 12 : 15.)
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7
In pre-Islamic Arabia the divorce was pronounced
thrice and was irrevocable, and remarriage between
the parties required the wife to go through a
temporary marriage with another husband who
divorced her after having sexual connection with
her. This practice was called halalah (lit.,
making a thing lawful). Without going through it,
it was not lawful for the divorced pair to return
to marital relations, Islam did not recognise
temporary marriage (H. xx : 4); and therefore
halalah was denounced. The marriage after an
irrevocable divorce spoken of in 2 : 230 is quite
different, being a perpetual marital
tie.
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9
Mutarrif reported,
`Imran was asked about a man who divorced his wife, then he
had intercourse with her, and he did not call witnesses on
the occasion of the divorce, nor on taking her back. `Imran
said, Thou divorcest against the Sunnah and takest back
against the Sunnah; have witnesses on the occasion of her
divorce and on taking her back.8
(IM. 10 : 5.)
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As marriage is a public act,
so is divorce; it must be pronounced in the
presence of witnesses. He was told to learn the art
of writing and then write down hadith.
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10
`A'ishah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, gave us option; so we chose Allah and His Messenger;
this was not reckoned for us as anything.9
(B. 68 : 5.)
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9
The wives of the Holy Prophet demanded certain
comforts which in the later days of the Holy
Prophet's life fell to the lot of Muslim women
generally. Just then the Holy Prophet received a
revelation telling him to give his wives the option
of remaining with him without these comforts, or to
have the material benefits and get themselves
divorced. They chose the first alternative. This
was not a divorce.
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11
Ibn al-Musayyab said,
When a person is found missing while fighting, his wife
shall wait for one year.10
(B. 68 : 22.)
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10
So that if no news of the husband is received
within this period, the wife can marry, Imam Malik
holds the view that in all cases where the husband
is mafqud al-khabar, the wife should wait
for four years and may marry after this.
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12
`Abd Allah reported,
A man from among the Ansar accused his wife of adultery; so
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, asked
them both to take an oath, then he ordered them to be
separated from each other.11
(B. 68 : 27.)
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11
The procedure of li`an, when a husband
accuses the wife of adultery and there is no
evidence, is laid down in the Holy Qur'an (24 :
6-9). The marital relation is in this case cut off.
The dowry remains the wife's. (B. 68 :
53).
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13
Ibn `Umar used to say, with respect to ila' about
which Allah has spoken,
It is not lawful for any one after the prescribed time (of
four months) has passed away, except that he should either
keep (the wife) in good fellowship or resolve upon
divorce.12
(B. 68 : 21.)
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12
Ila' is spoken of in the Holy Qur'an in the
following words : "Those who swear that they will
not go in to their wives should wait four months.
(2 : 225).
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Hadith
Section
> A
Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 21: Divorce (Hadith -- The Traditions)
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