Islamic divorce/Khula or Faskh by a Muslim woman
Question: Can a Muslim woman divorce her husband according to the Islamic Shariah law? If she is not happy with her marriage, can she apply for a divorce either by Islamic or English law ? If a decree of divorce is given under the UK court or outside of the UK, is it sufficient and valid divorce in the eyes of Islamic Shariah law?
Answer: In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
First of all, Islam does not give full authority to a woman to divorce her husband unless it has been agreed in the marriage contract at the first place. In other words, she does not have power to exercise decreeing herself to take divorce upon her.
However, in some exceptional circumstances, Islamic law empowers a woman to seek divorce from her husband for example, ‘Khula’ (mutually agreed divorce) this can be achieved by both agreeing to a common terms to dissolve the marriage.
In contrast to the ‘Khula’, if a wife seeks divorce (Talaq) from a husband who subsequently refuses to issue her a divorce, then she can seek divorce from the (UK) court provided that she meets the grounds for the divorce and in addition their marriage was registered in the UK or the marriage was conducted in a Muslim country where their marriage is recognised here in the UK.
If however, the marriage was not registered in the UK then, it is impossible to obtain a divorce decree from the court. Hence the only option will be to obtain an Islamic divorce via an institution or an Islamic legal board such as Mufti board.
If she is successful in acquiring divorce from the UK court then, subsequently she will need to seek Islamic divorce from a qualified Mufti board or an Islamic institution who are specialised and qualified to act on behalf of the wife to decree and dissolve the Islamic marriage based on the valid grounds.
In addition to the above, the reason to seek further divorce from a qualified Shariah institution or the Mufti board after receiving decree absolute has been given by the court, is because of the absence of Islamic jurists (Shari’e Qadhi), therefore, in this situation the Muftis/institutions will have the power to Faskh (dissolve) the Nikah (marriage) just like any of the courts that will grant the decree absolute.
Thus, she cannot give or declare/utter Talaq/divorce to her husband on her own but by the institutions or qualified Muftis, and or if she was given (Tafweed at Talaq) empowered in the marriage contract to self declare the Talaq.
Primarily the rights for a wife by her husband is of two types: (1) Fundamental rights: the first type is the rights which are imposed by the law (whether it is Islamic or non-Islamic law) for example: (1) Providing and taking care of her with necessities such as feeding, clothing her (providing maintenance) (2) Husband is capable of fulfilling her sexual desires and needs (3) Husband is not an abusive individual whether abusing physically or verbally (domestic violence).
For these type of rights, litigation can be sought by the wife if she is suffering from any of these rights. And it will be necessary for a husband to give divorce to her in these situations.
If the husband refuses to issue a divorce then the wife can apply to the above mentioned Shariah compliant institution to Faskh (dissolve) the Nikah (marriage) according to the Islamic family law.
Secondary type (2) Moral rights: is that, it is not obligatory upon a husband by law but it is morally important rights, for example, to have a good relationship towards each other and to demonstrate the best characters or etiquettes as a husband. For these type of rights litigation cannot be brought against the husband.
These important moral rights cannot be emphasised by any institutions unless the husband fears Allah and have firm belief in the hereafter. Thus, the Muftis will not be able to dissolve the marriage based on the lack of morality of one’s husband.
Besides the fundamental rights, the valid grounds in Islamic Shariah law for seeking divorce/Khula or Faskh by a wife are as follows:
(1) Husband has gone insane.
(2) Husband does not provide or take care of her with clothing, feeding and maintaining other necessities.
(3) Husband is impotent (lacks sexual capability) or suffers infertility (which refers to a male’s inability to cause pregnancy in a fertile wife).
(4) Husband has disappeared and untraceable (at least for four years).
(5) Husband is aggressive and extreme violent towards her (abusing, assaulting her known as domestic violence).
A Muslim woman must show one of these valid grounds in front of the Institution/Mufti board either in the written form or verbally proof that she falls under one of these grounds to get permanent dissolution of her marriage in accordance with the Islamic law. Allah knows the best.
Please read the PDF Article (in detail) below to understand the system of “Islamic Divorce procedure in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah“ (8 pages)
NOW IF YOU WISH TO MAKE THE ISLAMIC DIVORCE APPLICATION, CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO TAKE YOU TO THE DOWNLOAD PAGE
YOU MUST SHOW AT LEAST ONE OF THESE PRIMARY REASONS/GROUNDS FOR YOUR DIVORCE, FAILURE TO SHOW WILL RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION BEING REJECTED. ALTERNATIVELY YOU CAN SHOW A STRONG AND VALID REASON TO GET DIVORCE