❖ Ruling on Verbal Divorce in Shariah: Legal Status of Marriage After Triple Talaq
Source: Fatāwā Muhammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 799
❖ Question:
Muhammad Anwar, son of Khushi Muhammad, from the Quraishi tribe, resident of Chah Aana, Tehsil Bandi Bhattian, District Hafizabad, seeks clarification on a Shariah matter.
He states that his daughter, Nusrat Bibi, was married approximately five years ago to Ghulam Hussain, son of Muhammad Siddique, also from Chah Aana and of Quraishi descent.
After marriage, Nusrat Bibi lived intermittently with her husband for about three and a half years. During this time, she gave birth to a son from Ghulam Hussain, who is currently alive and about two years old, living with his mother.
However, during their married life, the husband began accusing his wife of indecency and denied the paternity of the child. These accusations led to intense conflict and tension in the household. Ghulam Hussain regularly taunted, physically abused, and oppressed his wife over trivial matters.
Eventually, one day, he physically assaulted her and expelled her from the house, verbally declaring “Talaq, Talaq, Talaq” three times.
It has now been approximately one and a half years since the incident, and no reconciliation or return (rujūʿ) has occurred during this period. Despite several attempts by the community to reconcile them, all efforts have failed.
Now the question is:
Have the three verbal divorces issued by Ghulam Hussain taken effect according to Shariah or not?
Muhammad Anwar (father of Nusrat Bibi) has sworn to the truth of this statement and has taken full responsibility in case of any falsehood. A Shariah ruling is requested accordingly.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
If the contents of the question are accurate, then based on the stated scenario, one revocable (rajʿī) divorce has legally taken effect.
The issuance of divorce is contingent upon the husband’s intent and verbal expression. When an adult, sane man, of his own free will and without coercion, pronounces divorce using either clear (ṣarīḥ) or indirect (kināyah) words, the divorce is valid in Shariah.
Written divorce is merely a means of documentation, not a condition for validity.
❖ Proof from Hadith:
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَجَاوَزَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَنْفُسَهَا، مَا لَمْ تَعْمَلْ أَوْ تَتَكَلَّم.»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book: Divorce under Constraint and Coercion, Vol. 2, Pg. 793-794)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Allah has forgiven my Ummah for what they think within themselves, as long as they do not act upon it or speak it.”
This same ḥadīth is also found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Vol. 1, Book of Īmān).
The words “أَوْ تَتَكَلَّم” clearly prove that verbal declaration of divorce is effective.
❖ Statement of Imām al-Tirmidhī:
وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى هَذَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا حَدَّثَ نَفْسَهُ بِالطَّلَاقِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْءٌ حَتَّى يَتَكَلَّمَ بِهِ.
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, Vol. 2, Pg. 215, Chapter on One Who Speaks to Himself About Divorcing His Wife)
The scholars unanimously agree that if a man intends divorce in his heart but does not pronounce it, divorce does not take place. However, once he speaks it, the divorce occurs.
❖ Statement of Imām Ibn Qudāmah al-Ḥanbalī:
وجملة ذلک أن الطلاق لا يقع إلا بلفظ، فلو نواه بقلبه من غير لفظ لم يقع، فی قول عامة أهل العلم.
(al-Mughnī, Vol. 7, Pg. 294)
“Divorce only occurs through verbal declaration. If it is only intended in the heart, it does not occur according to the consensus of the scholars.”
❖ Statement of Imām Ibn Rushd al-Mālikī:
أجمع المسلمون على أن الطلاق يقع إذا كان بنية ولفظ صريح. فمن اشترط فيه النية واللفظ الصريح فاتباعاً لظاهر الشرع.
(Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, Vol. 2, Pg. 55)
“There is consensus among Muslims that if the word of divorce is spoken with intention, then it takes effect. Requiring both intention and verbal declaration is based on the apparent meaning of Shariah.”
Also:
فالمشهور عن مالك أن الطلاق لا يقع إلا بلفظ و نية.
(Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, Vol. 2, Pg. 56)
“According to the well-known opinion of Imām Mālik, divorce only occurs when both intention and verbal expression are present.”
❖ Fatwa of Shaykh Nadhīr Ḥusayn Dehlawī and Mufti ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Multānī:
“When a husband issues divorce according to Shariah, whether verbally or in writing, the divorce takes effect.”
( Fatāwā Nadhīriyyah, Vol. 3, Pg. 73)
❖ Statement of ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Ḥanafī Lakhnawī:
فإن ركن الطلاق هو التلفظ بلفظ يدل عليه، فلا يقع بمجرد العزم والنية.
(ʿUmdat al-Riʿāyah, Vol. 2, Pg. 77, Footnote 7, Entry No. 658)
“The essence (rukn) of divorce is the utterance of a word that indicates it. Divorce does not occur merely by intention or resolve.”
❖ Fatwa of Mufti Muḥammad Shafīʿ Deobandī:
“The official fatwa of Deoband is also that verbal divorce takes effect.”
(Fatāwā Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband, Vol. 2)
Conclusion:
Based on the authentic narrations and the statements of leading scholars:
① In the given case, a revocable (rajʿī) divorce has indeed occurred according to Shariah.
② Since it has been one and a half years since the divorce was issued, the waiting period (ʿiddah) has long ended.
③ Therefore, the marital bond is terminated, and Nusrat Bibi is no longer in the nikāḥ of Ghulam Hussain.
This ruling is based on established Islamic legal principles, assuming the accuracy of the question and the truthfulness of the witnesses.
Mufti is not responsible for any legal implications. Validation by a competent court of law is necessary for legal enforcement.
هٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ۔
