Question:
I have an uncle & aunt who are uncertain if their divorce has taken place or not. Uncle told me that he prepared a letter of divorce with three divorces about ten years ago and did not inform his wife & share bed with her within 30-days of the letter. Later he decided not to give her divorce and since then they kept on living like husband & wife for 10 years now. Uncle has recently mentioned this to a maulvi who has issued a fatwa that divorce has taken place & they are no longer husband & wife. Kindly explain with reference to Hadith or Quran if their marriage is still valid. May Allah reward you for your kind services. Allah Hafiz!
Answer:
As-Salamu `Alaykum,
Divorce is one of the things which Allah (Swt) doesn’t like especially if the husband and wife have children.
“Either you live together legally and happily, or else you separate by divorce in a dignified and decent way.” (Qur’an)
The Quran and the holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) have stressed that both partners should act kindly and fairly with each other. However, for all married couples to have disagreements now and then is quite natural. In case a serious disagreement occurs a procedure is recommended in Islam to help reconcile the situation before a divorce.
Islam encourages reunion of the two disputing parties and considers it meritorious to cancel divorce during the reconciliation time. From the given information “Uncle told me that he prepared a letter of divorce with three divorces about ten years ago and did not inform his wife”, we can conclude that the uncle did not even act on his intention to divorce his wife. Therefore, their marriage is still valid.
May all our fellow Muslim sisters and brothers be granted harmonious and blessed marriages, Ameen!
Imam Senad Agic, Ph.D.
Head Imam (IABNA)
The Islamic Association of Bosniaks in North America
www.mesihat.com
