Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Ḥalālah refers to a marriage contract conducted solely with the intent that a man marries a woman who has been divorced with three irrevocable divorces (ṭalāq mughallaẓah), consummates the marriage, and then divorces her so that she may become permissible again for her first husband.
➊ Narrated by Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لعن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المحلل والمحلل له
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the Muḥallil and the Muḥallal lahu."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhi: 894; Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu; Tirmidhi: 1120; Nasa’i: 6/149; Dārimī: 2/158; Bayhaqī: 7/208; Aḥmad: 1/448]
➋ Narrated by ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
*"Shall I not inform you about the borrowed stud (i.e., temporary bull)?"
They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!"
He replied:
هو المحلل لعن الله المحلل والمحلل له
"He is the Muḥallil. May Allah curse the Muḥallil and the Muḥallal lahu."
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1572; Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu; Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 6/309; Ibn Mājah: 1936; Dāraqutnī: 3/251; Ḥākim: 2/199; Bayhaqī: 7/308]
✔ This clearly proves the prohibition of Ḥalālah, as curse (laʿnah) is only invoked upon actions that are ḥarām.
[Sabil al-Salām: 3/1336]
➌ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said:
"During the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, people considered Ḥalālah to be a form of adultery."
[Ḥākim: 2/199; Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ as cited in Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 4/267 – declared authentic by Imām al-Haythamī]
➍ Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was asked about Ḥalālah. He replied:
كلاهما زانٍ
"Both (the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu) are adulterers."
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/294 – declared authentic by Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq in al-Taʿlīq ʿala al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/38]
➎ ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said:
"If the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu are brought to me, I will stone them both."
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/294; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 6/348]
✔ Majority of scholars (Jumhūr):
Ḥalālah is absolutely ḥarām.
✖ Ḥanafī Madhhab:
Some scholars deemed it permissible, especially if intention is not made explicit, and even claimed reward for it in certain texts — a view that contradicts explicit authentic Hadith.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/281; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/218]
✔ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah on the invalidity of Ḥalālah marriage.
[Fatāwā al-Nisā’: p. 242]
✔ Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:
Such a marriage was never permitted in any divine law, nor was it ever practiced or approved by any Companion of the Prophet ﷺ.
[Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 3/41–43]
✔ Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله:
Clearly stated: Ḥalālah is ḥarām.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/280]
➤ The practice of Ḥalālah is explicitly forbidden in Islam.
➤ It is not a legitimate means to restore a woman to her first husband after three divorces.
➤ It is accompanied by curse (laʿnah) in the Sunnah, and condemned by the Companions and leading scholars.
➤ According to strongest opinions, such a marriage is invalid (bāṭil) and akin to zinā (fornication).
❖ Definition of Ḥalālah
Ḥalālah refers to a marriage contract conducted solely with the intent that a man marries a woman who has been divorced with three irrevocable divorces (ṭalāq mughallaẓah), consummates the marriage, and then divorces her so that she may become permissible again for her first husband.
- The man who enters into such a marriage is called the Muḥallil (the one who makes permissible).
- The first husband is called the Muḥallal lahu (the one for whom she is made permissible).
❖ Prophetic Warnings Against Ḥalālah
➊ Narrated by Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لعن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المحلل والمحلل له
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the Muḥallil and the Muḥallal lahu."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhi: 894; Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu; Tirmidhi: 1120; Nasa’i: 6/149; Dārimī: 2/158; Bayhaqī: 7/208; Aḥmad: 1/448]
➋ Narrated by ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
*"Shall I not inform you about the borrowed stud (i.e., temporary bull)?"
They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!"
He replied:
هو المحلل لعن الله المحلل والمحلل له
"He is the Muḥallil. May Allah curse the Muḥallil and the Muḥallal lahu."
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1572; Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu; Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 6/309; Ibn Mājah: 1936; Dāraqutnī: 3/251; Ḥākim: 2/199; Bayhaqī: 7/308]
✔ This clearly proves the prohibition of Ḥalālah, as curse (laʿnah) is only invoked upon actions that are ḥarām.
[Sabil al-Salām: 3/1336]
❖ Views of the Companions on Ḥalālah
➌ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said:
"During the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, people considered Ḥalālah to be a form of adultery."
[Ḥākim: 2/199; Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ as cited in Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 4/267 – declared authentic by Imām al-Haythamī]
➍ Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was asked about Ḥalālah. He replied:
كلاهما زانٍ
"Both (the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu) are adulterers."
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/294 – declared authentic by Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq in al-Taʿlīq ʿala al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/38]
➎ ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said:
"If the Muḥallil and Muḥallal lahu are brought to me, I will stone them both."
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/294; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 6/348]
❖ Scholarly Consensus and Rulings
✔ Majority of scholars (Jumhūr):
Ḥalālah is absolutely ḥarām.
✖ Ḥanafī Madhhab:
Some scholars deemed it permissible, especially if intention is not made explicit, and even claimed reward for it in certain texts — a view that contradicts explicit authentic Hadith.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/281; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/218]
✔ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah on the invalidity of Ḥalālah marriage.
[Fatāwā al-Nisā’: p. 242]
✔ Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:
Such a marriage was never permitted in any divine law, nor was it ever practiced or approved by any Companion of the Prophet ﷺ.
[Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 3/41–43]
✔ Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله:
Clearly stated: Ḥalālah is ḥarām.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/280]
Conclusion:
➤ The practice of Ḥalālah is explicitly forbidden in Islam.
➤ It is not a legitimate means to restore a woman to her first husband after three divorces.
➤ It is accompanied by curse (laʿnah) in the Sunnah, and condemned by the Companions and leading scholars.
➤ According to strongest opinions, such a marriage is invalid (bāṭil) and akin to zinā (fornication).
