Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Can a woman return to her first husband through ḥalālah?
Ḥalālah is considered fornication (zinā).
Through it, a woman does not become lawful for her first husband.
Nāfiʿ رحمه الله reported:
سُئِلَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ ثَلَاثًا، فَتَزَوَّجَهَا أَخُوهُ بِغَيْرِ أَمْرِهِ، فَهَلْ تَحِلُّ لِلزَّوْجِ الْأَوَّلِ؟ قَالَ: لَا، إِلَّا نِكَاحَ رَغْبَةٍ، كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَذَا زِنًا فِي عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
Translation:
A man asked ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه about someone who gave his wife three divorces, then his brother married her without the first husband's knowledge (with the intention of ḥalālah). Would she become lawful for the first husband?
He replied: No, only a marriage done with genuine intention (of permanence) is valid. During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we used to consider such ḥalālah as fornication (zinā).
Al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim: 2/199, Ḥadīth: 2806
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/208
Sanad (chain) is authentic.
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه was also asked about ḥalālah, and he said:
هُمَا زَانِيَانِ وَإِنْ مَكَثَا عَشْرَ سِنِينَ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً إِذَا أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَهَا بِذَلِكَ
Translation:
Both (the man who performed ḥalālah and the woman) are fornicators, even if they stayed together for ten or twenty years — if the marriage was done with that intention.
Al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah by Ibn Ḥajar: 1693
Sanad (chain) is authentic.
➤ A woman divorced thrice does not become lawful for her first husband through a pre-planned ḥalālah.
➤ Any such intentional arrangement is zinā (fornication) according to the clear statements of the Companions, especially ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه.
➤ Even if the couple stays together for years, it does not change the ruling if the original intent of the marriage was temporary (ḥalālah).
❖ Question:
Can a woman return to her first husband through ḥalālah?
✿ Answer:
Ḥalālah is considered fornication (zinā).
Through it, a woman does not become lawful for her first husband.
✦ Athār (Narrations of the Companions):
Nāfiʿ رحمه الله reported:
سُئِلَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ طَلَّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ ثَلَاثًا، فَتَزَوَّجَهَا أَخُوهُ بِغَيْرِ أَمْرِهِ، فَهَلْ تَحِلُّ لِلزَّوْجِ الْأَوَّلِ؟ قَالَ: لَا، إِلَّا نِكَاحَ رَغْبَةٍ، كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَذَا زِنًا فِي عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
Translation:
A man asked ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه about someone who gave his wife three divorces, then his brother married her without the first husband's knowledge (with the intention of ḥalālah). Would she become lawful for the first husband?
He replied: No, only a marriage done with genuine intention (of permanence) is valid. During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we used to consider such ḥalālah as fornication (zinā).
Al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim: 2/199, Ḥadīth: 2806 Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/208 Sanad (chain) is authentic.ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه was also asked about ḥalālah, and he said:
هُمَا زَانِيَانِ وَإِنْ مَكَثَا عَشْرَ سِنِينَ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً إِذَا أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَهَا بِذَلِكَ
Translation:
Both (the man who performed ḥalālah and the woman) are fornicators, even if they stayed together for ten or twenty years — if the marriage was done with that intention.
Al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah by Ibn Ḥajar: 1693 Sanad (chain) is authentic.
Summary:
➤ A woman divorced thrice does not become lawful for her first husband through a pre-planned ḥalālah.
➤ Any such intentional arrangement is zinā (fornication) according to the clear statements of the Companions, especially ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه.
➤ Even if the couple stays together for years, it does not change the ruling if the original intent of the marriage was temporary (ḥalālah).
