Talaq uttered thrice by a Muslim man on a mobile phone will be considered valid even if his wife is unable to hear it all the three times due to network and other problems, a fresh fatwa has ruled.
This ruling was given by the Darul Ifta, the fatwa department of leading Sunni Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, in reply to a question posted by a man.
He had asked that in case no witness was present when he uttered talaq over phone, would it be considered valid.
“I angrily said talaq three times to my wife on cellphone but she claimed that she didn't hear it even once, and nobody was around. Please tell me whether the talaq has taken place,” he asked.
In its reply, the Darul Ifta said, “If you have said talaqs thrice to your wife, it is valid.”
The fatwa said the woman would be free to marry after her iddat period (three months after divorce) is over.
“It is not necessary that for talaq to take place the wife hears it or witnesses are present,” it ruled.
In October, the seminary had ruled that saying talaq three times even in jest was valid as per Islamic law.
A youth, in his query, had said that while chatting with his wife over the net he had playfully typed talaq thrice.
Claiming to have little knowledge about Islam, the youth said he didn't know how a talaq was executed.
The youth said he was living happily with his wife and wanted to live with her in future as well.
The Darul Ifta, in its reply, said once talaq was spelt out thrice it amounted to a divorce.
As per the ruling, the woman would be required to complete the iddat period after which she could marry another man. She would be then required to divorce her second husband and go through the iddat period again. “Only then would she be allowed to re-marry her former husband.”
Keywords: Muslim laws, Darul Uloom Deoband, fatwa
Comments:
This is the most ridiculous thing that I ever heard especially in a modern India. We should end all this religion based personal laws and not give into divisive religious practices. No place for it in a secular, modern, democracy that values human dignity.
This ideology is practiced by only orthodox Sunni Deobandi school of thought of India and is not accepted by any other sect or Muslim school of thought around the the world.
If the implications of this ruling were minor, we could have laughed it off. After all this is not about a text message that waxes lyrical on the merits of a 'laddu' or 'samosa'. This is a text message that initiaties divorce proceedings. This is about a ruling over an issue that has profound implications for a couple. Using any form of mediated technology to initiate processings as serious as this blessed by tradition is extraordinarily regressive.
Unless the followers of Islam themselves get to know about their religious laws, these kind of institutions will lead the Muslims astray.
Will Deoband also be mindful enough to cite any hadith or aayaahs of Quraan supporting their decisions.I don't think they will be able to produce any.
It's not good to my knowledge
It doesn't make sense, if anyone needs divorce why hide and seek (Hypocrisy) -- If someone is not happy either party stand up and speak - I think these kind of rulings should not be entertained either by big schools like deoband and these type of articles should not be published by respected newspapers - what if someone else text the message.
This again shows that Uniform Civil Code can alone liberate Muslim women of India.
It is amazing that people follow such leaders - this comes from the 16th century??? I hope the young educated Muslim women of today stand up against this custom and move towards proper divorces via a court procedure. If they do want to follow such a custom, it should be equivocal, with the women entitled to the same "privilege" .
Can these Ulemas substantiate their claim from Quran. In Islam, when a Nikkah is solemnised with the consent of Bride, in front of her maternal uncles, how could the same Islamic Law will allow such a idiotic way for seperation of married couple?
These deobands and ulooms are depicting the laws of their faith as jest infront of the world. Till such time the ordinary Muslim brothren say talaq to these 4th-century-minded people, no amount of state help is going to help them.
These so called Muftees are advised to attend KG classes in Islamic Jurisprudence! Pity on those blind followers who approach them for fatwas! Just use your brains oh men and women and see what Islam says, providing you accept the Qur'an and Prophet's Traditions as the basis of Islamic law, rather than aping the whims and fancies of these thoughtless clergymen.