9. WAYS OF MUSLIM DIVORCE


Ways by which Muslim Husband can dissolve their marriage

TALAQ-E-AHSAN

•The term ‘talaq-e-ahsan’ refers to a single ‘talaq’ by the spouse, followed by a time of abstinence. The abstinence phase gets referred to as ‘iddat.’ The ‘iddat’ lasts ninety days, which is three menstrual cycles or three lunar months.

•The divorce decree gets considered annulled if the couple resumes cohabitation or intimacy within the ‘iddat’ time. As a result, the ‘talaq-e-ahsan’ is revocable. If there is no return of cohabitation or intimacy during the ‘iddat’ time, the divorce becomes permanent and irreversible once the ‘iddat’ term has expired.

•It is irreversible since the pair get prohibited from resuming their marital relationship until they sign a new ‘nikah’ (marriage) with a new ‘mahr’.

•However, after the third ‘talaq’, the pair cannot remarry unless the wife first marries someone else. Then the couple can remarry when her marriage with the other person gets dissolved (either via ‘talaq’ – divorce, or death).

TALAQ-E-HASAN

• ‘Talaq-e-hasan’ is pronounced similarly to ‘talaq-e-ahsan.’ Instead of a single statement, three consecutive pronouncements are made here. If there is a return of cohabitation within one month following the initial divorce decree, the divorce decree gets considered revoked.

•After the first month has expired, the same method must be followed (during which marital ties have not resumed). The word ‘Talaq’ is spoken once more.

•If there is a return of cohabitation within one month of the second pronouncement of talaq, the divorce decree gets considered annulled.

•It is important to note that the spouse can cancel the first and second declarations. If he does so, either explicitly or by resuming marital relations, the husband’s stated talaq becomes useless, as if no talaq ever got expressed.

•The third ‘talaq’ gets communicated to the wife is irreversible. As a result, if no revocation gets made after the first and second declarations, and the husband makes the third statement during the third ‘tuhr’ (time of purity), the ‘talaq’ becomes irrevocable, and the marriage gets dissolved.

•The wife must adhere to the required ‘iddat’ (the following a divorce during which a woman cannot remarry). Its goal is to guarantee that any offspring’s male father is readily identifiable).

•Once the third ‘iddat,’ the husband and wife cannot remarry unless the wife first marries someone else, and the pair can only remarry after her marriage with another person has been annulled.

The difference between ‘talaq-e-Ahsan and ‘talaq-e-hasan’ is that the former has a single ‘talaq’ pronouncement followed by abstinence whilst the latter has three ‘talaq’ declarations interspersed with abstinence.

Provisions by which Muslim woman can divorce their husbands

KHULA

A Muslim woman can divorce through a process known as Khula, in which she chooses to end her marriage. Wife-initiated Talaq is the term for this process. According to Ulemas, Khula can only get practised when the husband agrees to the wife’s request, notably the Hanafi School.

TALAQ-E-TAFWEEZ

A legal agreement between the parties to a marriage in which the wife is free to divorce her husband in certain circumstances is valid. This arrangement is possible before or after the Talaq, which the married woman initiates.


The Supreme Court of India banned the Islamic practice of "Triple Talaq"

 (divorce by uttering of the "Talaq" word thrice by the husband).