islam 21c.

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http://www.islam21c.co m/islamic-law/912-fatwa-a-civil-divo rce-is-no t-a-valid-islamic-divo rce/

Fatwa: A Civil Divorce is not a valid Islamic Divorce

T he correct procedure f or Islamic divorces or marriage dissolutions in non-Muslim countries is a signif icant topic that has been neglected by many Muslims in non-Muslim states. T here are some f undamental details that many Muslims in the UK are unaware of , and as a result, we f ind many within the Muslim community f alling prey to major misunderstandings. Many questions and cases presented to the Islamic Shariah Council (or f atwa line) are extremely shocking whereby Muslims f all into major sins and grave blunders due to their ignorance of the dif f erent rulings regarding marriage dissolution or divorce. T he f ollowing points brief ly illustrate the ways in which an Islamic marriage comes to an end. Ending a marriage in Islam can take place by one of three main methods: 1. Talaq : T his f orm of divorce is the sole right of the husband whereby he pronounces the word divorce, talaq or any other similar word (in any language) to establish a divorce. No one may deprive him of this right given that he has been awarded such a right by God. T his right belongs only to the husband and moreover, he does not need the consent or approval of any one, including his wif e. T heref ore, a woman divorcing her husband is Islamically incorrect and is invalid as a f emale has no such recourse to such a right, although she may request the conclusion of the marriage through other means. Similarly, an Islamic judge cannot issue a divorce but he can (once being recognised as an Islamic judge) issue a faskh (marriage dissolution). 2. Khul: It is a divorce issued by the husband in exchange of money. It happens when the wif e requests her husband to divorce her, but he ref uses unless she returns her dowry. Again, it is the right of the husband and is conditional to his approval. 3. Faskh ; it is a marriage dissolution issued by a judge in response to a request by the wif e and normally takes place against the will of the husband. However, the judge has to be appointed either by the leader of the Muslims, or by the Muslim community, or at least recognized as being an Islamic judge by the vast majority of the Muslim community. Merely being an imam neither suf f ices nor authorises him to dissolve marriages. All of the Islamic (legal) schools of thoughts agree that the Islamic judge who implements Islamic law must be privy to certain requirements such as being a Muslim. In the Quran it is stated,

And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers.

It is not known that any scholar accepted a verdict issued by a non-Muslim (or non-Muslim body) on such issues. It seems that such a phenomenon is quite recent where some muf tis and f atwa bodies have invented an opinion whereby the judgment of a non-Muslim judge is accepted. T hey attempt to justif y this by claiming that being a citizen implies that you accept the law of land, and that any person who has accepted the citizenship of a country has appointed the non-Islamic judiciary to act on his behalf in dissolving his/her marriage. In response to these claims it should be initially noted that being a citizen of a state does not imply that a Muslim will accept all non-Islamic laws. Can Muslims accept non-Islamic inheritance law that prevails in western European non-Muslim countries? As f or the claim that by accepting citizenship, the Muslim individual is delegating his right to divorce to the judiciary system of his country, then the response to this is such designation should be clear and explicit. In conclusion, I would like to af f irm that the divorce issued by the civil court in response to the wif es request is neither a valid divorce nor legitimate marriage dissolution. T his means that such a wif e remains a wif e and is not f ree to marry another man. Marrying another man while the original marriage is still in place is a violation of Islamic law and a crime. What is more dangerous than this is the f act that all children she gives birth to bef ore obtaining a proper marriage dissolution may be considered to be of the f irst husband

f rom whom she assumed she had been divorced. Wives who f ace intolerable situations may seek marriage dissolution by a recognized body that is known and accepted in acting as a judiciary body f or Muslims. No single imam or Muf ti can do that by himself . And Allah the Most High is most knowledgeable.