Does a Woman Become Permissible for Her First Husband through Nikāḥ Ḥalālah?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Does a woman become permissible for her first husband through a Halālah marriage (temporary remarriage for the purpose of return)?
Nikāḥ Ḥalālah is invalid (bāṭil) and does not render the woman lawful for the first husband.
This is because a valid and genuine marriage is a prerequisite for the woman to become permissible again to her first husband. A marriage done with the sole intent of making the woman lawful again (ḥalāl) for her ex-husband is not a valid marriage—it is in fact bāṭil and sinful, and has been equated with zinā (fornication).
❀ Nāfiʿ رحمه الله narrates:
جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ ثَلَاثًا، فَتَزَوَّجَهَا أَخٌ لَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ مُؤَامَرَةٍ مِنْهُ، لِيُحِلَّهَا لِأَخِيهِ، هَلْ تَحِلُّ لِلْأَوَّلِ؟ قَالَ: لَا، إِلَّا نِكَاحَ رَغْبَةٍ، كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَذَا سِفَاحًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ.
A man came to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and asked: "A man divorced his wife thrice. Without his consultation, the man’s brother married the woman with the intention of making her ḥalāl again for her first husband. Will she be permissible for the first husband?" Ibn ʿUmar replied: "No, except in the case of a genuine marriage based on desire. In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we considered this kind of ḥalālah to be fornication (sifāḥ)."
[Al-Mustadrak lil-Ḥākim: 2/199, Ḥadīth 2806; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 7/208]
Authenticity:
— Chain is ṣaḥīḥ and connected.
— Imām Ḥākim graded it authentic on the condition of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī agreed.
— Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī said:
رجاله رجال الصحيح
"Its narrators are those of the Ṣaḥīḥ collections."
[Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 4/267]
❀ Ibn ʿUmar was asked again about ḥalālah and said:
هُمَا زَانِيَانِ، وَإِنْ مَكَثَا عَشْرَ سِنِينَ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، إِذَا أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَهَا لِذَلِكَ.
"They are both fornicators, even if they remain together for ten or twenty years—if he married her only for the purpose of making her ḥalāl (for the first husband)."
[Al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah by Ibn Ḥajar: 1693 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
❀ ʿAllāmah Nawāb Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān رحمه الله (d. 1307 AH) wrote:
“I say: The aḥādīth cursing those who engage in ḥalālah are reported from a group of Companions. Some are authentic (ṣaḥīḥ), others are sound (ḥasan). Curse (laʿnah) in Islamic terminology is only applied to those actions that are not only prohibited, but considered major sins.
Therefore, ḥalālah is an unlawful (ḥarām) and prohibited act. Had it been permissible, those who perform it or agree to it would not have been cursed. Since the doer is cursed, this proves its prohibition without any need for further evidence.
Also, since the act itself is impermissible, it cannot qualify as the type of nikāḥ referred to in the verse:
﴿حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجٗا غَيۡرَهُ﴾
“Until she marries another husband.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 230]
For example, if someone says: "Allah has cursed the seller of wine," it does not mean the sale of wine is permissible under the general ruling:
﴿وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡبَيۡعَ﴾
“Allah has made trade lawful.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 275]
The matter is crystal clear.
[Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/17–18]
① Nikāḥ ḥalālah (marriage with the intention of making the woman ḥalāl for the first husband) is bāṭil (invalid).
② Such a marriage is not considered a valid nikāḥ in the sight of Allah.
③ The participants are considered fornicators, even if the marriage lasts for years.
④ The Prophet ﷺ and his Companions ﷺ condemned such marriages and equated them with zinā.
⑤ Therefore, the woman does NOT become lawful for her first husband through ḥalālah.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Does a woman become permissible for her first husband through a Halālah marriage (temporary remarriage for the purpose of return)?
❖ Answer:
Nikāḥ Ḥalālah is invalid (bāṭil) and does not render the woman lawful for the first husband.
This is because a valid and genuine marriage is a prerequisite for the woman to become permissible again to her first husband. A marriage done with the sole intent of making the woman lawful again (ḥalāl) for her ex-husband is not a valid marriage—it is in fact bāṭil and sinful, and has been equated with zinā (fornication).
◈ Statement of the Companion ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
❀ Nāfiʿ رحمه الله narrates:
جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ ثَلَاثًا، فَتَزَوَّجَهَا أَخٌ لَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ مُؤَامَرَةٍ مِنْهُ، لِيُحِلَّهَا لِأَخِيهِ، هَلْ تَحِلُّ لِلْأَوَّلِ؟ قَالَ: لَا، إِلَّا نِكَاحَ رَغْبَةٍ، كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَذَا سِفَاحًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ.
A man came to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and asked: "A man divorced his wife thrice. Without his consultation, the man’s brother married the woman with the intention of making her ḥalāl again for her first husband. Will she be permissible for the first husband?" Ibn ʿUmar replied: "No, except in the case of a genuine marriage based on desire. In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we considered this kind of ḥalālah to be fornication (sifāḥ)."
[Al-Mustadrak lil-Ḥākim: 2/199, Ḥadīth 2806; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 7/208] Authenticity:— Chain is ṣaḥīḥ and connected.
— Imām Ḥākim graded it authentic on the condition of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī agreed.
— Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī said:
رجاله رجال الصحيح
"Its narrators are those of the Ṣaḥīḥ collections."
[Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 4/267]◈ Strong Condemnation from Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
❀ Ibn ʿUmar was asked again about ḥalālah and said:
هُمَا زَانِيَانِ، وَإِنْ مَكَثَا عَشْرَ سِنِينَ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، إِذَا أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَهَا لِذَلِكَ.
"They are both fornicators, even if they remain together for ten or twenty years—if he married her only for the purpose of making her ḥalāl (for the first husband)."
[Al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah by Ibn Ḥajar: 1693 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]◈ Scholarly Verdict
❀ ʿAllāmah Nawāb Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān رحمه الله (d. 1307 AH) wrote:
“I say: The aḥādīth cursing those who engage in ḥalālah are reported from a group of Companions. Some are authentic (ṣaḥīḥ), others are sound (ḥasan). Curse (laʿnah) in Islamic terminology is only applied to those actions that are not only prohibited, but considered major sins.
Therefore, ḥalālah is an unlawful (ḥarām) and prohibited act. Had it been permissible, those who perform it or agree to it would not have been cursed. Since the doer is cursed, this proves its prohibition without any need for further evidence.
Also, since the act itself is impermissible, it cannot qualify as the type of nikāḥ referred to in the verse:
﴿حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجٗا غَيۡرَهُ﴾
“Until she marries another husband.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 230]
For example, if someone says: "Allah has cursed the seller of wine," it does not mean the sale of wine is permissible under the general ruling:
﴿وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡبَيۡعَ﴾
“Allah has made trade lawful.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 275]
The matter is crystal clear.
[Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/17–18] Conclusion:
① Nikāḥ ḥalālah (marriage with the intention of making the woman ḥalāl for the first husband) is bāṭil (invalid).
② Such a marriage is not considered a valid nikāḥ in the sight of Allah.
③ The participants are considered fornicators, even if the marriage lasts for years.
④ The Prophet ﷺ and his Companions ﷺ condemned such marriages and equated them with zinā.
⑤ Therefore, the woman does NOT become lawful for her first husband through ḥalālah.
