Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Is a divorce issued jokingly (in jest) considered valid in Islamic law?
Yes, a divorce pronounced in jest is valid and takes effect in Islamic law.
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ثلاث جدهن جد، وهزلهن جد: النكاح، والطلاق، والرجعة
“Three matters—whether said seriously or in jest—are counted as serious: marriage, divorce, and taking back (a wife after a divorce).”
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2194; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1225; Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2039; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī: 2/58; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 3/256–257]
Also, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Ḥabīb bin Ardak (a narrator in the chain) is considered ḥasan al-ḥadīth (trustworthy).
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said:
“This is the practice among the scholars from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and those after them.”
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله (d. 388 AH) stated:
“There is consensus among the scholars that if a mature and sane person utters the clear words of divorce, he is held accountable for it—even if he says, ‘I was joking,’ or ‘I didn’t intend divorce,’ or similar excuses.”
[Maʿālim al-Sunan: 3/243; Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī: 9/220]
❖ Question:
Is a divorce issued jokingly (in jest) considered valid in Islamic law?
✿ Answer:
Yes, a divorce pronounced in jest is valid and takes effect in Islamic law.
◈ Prophetic Statement on the Matter:
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ثلاث جدهن جد، وهزلهن جد: النكاح، والطلاق، والرجعة
“Three matters—whether said seriously or in jest—are counted as serious: marriage, divorce, and taking back (a wife after a divorce).”
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2194; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1225; Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2039; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī: 2/58; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 3/256–257]
Authentication of the Ḥadīth:
- Imām al-Tirmidhī: Ḥasan Gharīb
- Imām Ibn al-Jārūd (Hadith no. 712): Ṣaḥīḥ
- Imām al-Ḥākim (2/192): Ṣaḥīḥ al-Isnād
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar: Graded it Ḥasan
[al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/210]
Also, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Ḥabīb bin Ardak (a narrator in the chain) is considered ḥasan al-ḥadīth (trustworthy).
◈ Scholarly Consensus:
❀ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said:
“This is the practice among the scholars from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and those after them.”
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله (d. 388 AH) stated:
“There is consensus among the scholars that if a mature and sane person utters the clear words of divorce, he is held accountable for it—even if he says, ‘I was joking,’ or ‘I didn’t intend divorce,’ or similar excuses.”
[Maʿālim al-Sunan: 3/243; Sharḥ al-Sunnah by al-Baghawī: 9/220] Conclusion:
- A clear declaration of divorce, even in jest, is legally binding.
- Intent is not required for clear and unambiguous divorce pronouncements.
- This ruling is unanimously agreed upon by scholars, including the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
