❖ Legitimacy of Marriage and Divorce Without Consent ❖
This response is derived from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women,” which includes the fatwas of the Scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
My elder brother married me off without my consent. Despite this, I have lived with my husband for six years. We have no children. I still live with him but do not love him and now wish to seek divorce. However, I have heard a ḥadīth which says that a woman who seeks divorce without reason will not enter Paradise. What is the solution?
When you moved in with your husband without objection and continued living with him for a long time, this indicates tacit approval (ijazah) of your brother’s action. Therefore, the marriage is considered valid, as it became valid through your later approval.
However, if you are dissatisfied, emotionally unsettled, feel aversion and hardship in the marriage, and also fear that you may not be able to fulfill the husband's rights—particularly when there is no offspring—then all these reasons are sufficient grounds for requesting a divorce, and your request is Islamically justified.
(Shaykh Ibn Jibreen ḥafiẓahullāh)
This response is derived from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women,” which includes the fatwas of the Scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
❖ Question:
My elder brother married me off without my consent. Despite this, I have lived with my husband for six years. We have no children. I still live with him but do not love him and now wish to seek divorce. However, I have heard a ḥadīth which says that a woman who seeks divorce without reason will not enter Paradise. What is the solution?
❖ Answer:
When you moved in with your husband without objection and continued living with him for a long time, this indicates tacit approval (ijazah) of your brother’s action. Therefore, the marriage is considered valid, as it became valid through your later approval.
However, if you are dissatisfied, emotionally unsettled, feel aversion and hardship in the marriage, and also fear that you may not be able to fulfill the husband's rights—particularly when there is no offspring—then all these reasons are sufficient grounds for requesting a divorce, and your request is Islamically justified.
(Shaykh Ibn Jibreen ḥafiẓahullāh)
