Fatwa on marriage

November 01, 2010 02:01 am | Updated 02:01 am IST

The Deobandi fatwa cancelling the marriage of a Qatari Muslim for typing the word talaq thrice while chatting on Skype with his wife is shocking. Religious leaders should not mislead people by issuing such baseless fatwas. Such fatwas are not based on the Koran or the authentic teachings of the Prophet.

Divorce is not a trivial matter in Islam. When a man and woman have a dispute that can lead to a divorce and the man says talaq three times or more, it is considered the first time. If they patch up within three months, they can lead a normal life. If there is a dispute for the second time and the husband pronounces talaq thrice, it is considered the second utterance of talaq . Again, they can reconcile within three months. Only when the husband says talaq for the third time, it is a divorce. The husband should pronounce talaq in the presence of two witnesses. And the woman should undergo iddah (waiting period) of three months before marrying again.

Safia Moin,

Tirunelveli

***

It is unfortunate that a section of misguided Muslims say the Shariah, as interpreted by Imam Abu Hanifa, is medieval and archaic. These upholders of ‘modern Islamic' law condemn triple talaq (which the Imam approves). Triple talaq is not specifically prohibited as in the case of “ila,” “zahir” or “tahlil” forms of divorce. The difference between the “talak-e-ahsan” and triple talaq is akin to the difference between the curing of a disease through ‘oral therapy' and ‘surgery' — depending on the circumstances of the case.

S.M. Pasha,

Chennai

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.