Dear Sir,
Muslim law of marriage and divorce is a bit different from laws regulating marriage and divorce in other religion.
For Muslims, marriage is a social contract, and for marriage, divorce and remarriage they have to follow a procedure prescribed by their religious customs,
Rule of divorce: -
BY HUSBAND
- TALAQ: - Talaq means a release from the marriage tie, immediately or eventually. It is not necessary for him to obtain the prior approval of his wife for the dissolution of his marriage.
In order to pronounce a valid talaq, the husband must possess some qualifications, like he must be sound mind, who has attained the age of puberty is competent to pronounce talaq.
Different modes of talaq are: -
- Talaq-ul-sunnat: -
It a Talaq which is affected in accordance with the traditions of Prophet.
Which is further sub-divided into:
- Ahsan (Most approved mode of talaq)
Conditions to follow for this mode are: -
- The husband must declaration the formula of divorce in a single sentence.
- The declaration of divorce must be in a state of purity (tuhr);
(Tuhr means period when a woman is free from her menstrual course).
- He must abstain from intercourse for the period of iddat.
- Hasan (Good mode of talaq)
Conditions to follow this mode are: -
- There must be three successive declarations of the formula of divorce;
- In the case of the menstruating wife, the first pronouncement should be made during a period of tuhr, the second during the next tuhr and the third during the succeeding tuhr;
- In the case of the non-menstruating wife, the pronouncement should be made during the succeeding intervals of 30 days;
- No sexual intercourse should take place during these three periods of tuhr. If it takes place, no divorce shall happen.
- Talaq-ul-biddat (disapproved mode of talaq)
- Illa (vow of continence): -
Illa means where a husband was had attained majority and is of sound mind, swears by God that he will not have sexual intercourse with his wife and leaves the wife, to complete iddat he is said to make Ila. Thus, if a husband says to his wife, ‘I swear by God, that I shall not approach thee’, it is valid Ila.
Where the husband having made Ila abstains from intercourse with his wife for four months, the marriage is dissolved with the same legal results, as if there had been an irrevocable divorce pronouncement by the husband.
- Zihar (injurious assimilation)
If the husband who is sane and adult compares his wife with his mother or any female within a prohibited degree of relationship, then the wife has a right to refuse herself to him until he has performed wrongdoing. In default of expiation by the penance, the wife has the right to apply for a judicial divorce (mulla).
BY WIFE
- Talaq-e-tafweez ( talaq by the wife under the husband’s delegated power)
A husband may, either himself, repudiate his wife or delegated this power of repudiating her to a third party, or even to his wife. such delegation of power is called tafweez.
An agreement made either before or after the marriage providing that the wife would be at liberty to divorce herself from her husband under specified conditions such as,
- The husband marries a second wife or fails to maintain her for a specified period
Provided first, that the option is not absolute and unconditional; secondly, that the conditions are reasonable and not opposed to public policy.
BY MUTUAL CONSENT
- Khula (divorce at the request of wife)
A divorce by khula is a divorce with consent and at the instance of the wife, in which she gives or agrees to give a consideration to the husband for her release from the marriage tie. It signifies an agreement entered into for the purpose of dissolving a concubial connection in lieu of compensation paid by the wife to her husband out of her property.
Khula, in fact, is thus a right of divorce purchased by the wife from her husband.
- Mubarat (divorce by mutual agreement)
Mubarat is also a form of dissolution of marriage contract. It signifies a mutual discharge from the marriage claims.
In this mode of divorce, the offer may be either from the side od wife or from the side of the husband. When an offer mubarat is accepted, it becomes an irrevocable divorce and iddat is necessary.
BY JUDICIAL DECREE UNDER DISSOLUTION OF MUSLIUM MARRIAGE ACT, 1939
The wife could apply for the dissolution of her marriage only on the following grounds.
- Impotency of the husband
- Lian (false charge of adultery)
Where a husband charges his wife of adultery and the charge is false, the wife is entitled to sue for and obtain a divorce.