Divorce

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people] and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

Of the bad social features that were spread among people in these days is the cases of divorce. In a statistic of the Saudi ministry of justice issued in 1429 AH, the official documents reached (28867) cases, of which (8274) cases in Riyadh which is a very high number that indicate the seriousness of the matter if not controlled. Therefore, scholars, callers, and knowledge seekers should warn the people against this matter and show its danger because of the gained corruption such as dispersion of families, losing children, and cutting off the relationships among friends and kinship. The Lawgiver exhorted to maintain marital life and prohibited anything that exposes it to decline, hence it commanded with treating one another kindly even if one hates the other. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "And live with them honorably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allâh brings through it a great deal of good." [Surat An-Nisa': 19].

The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded people to observe patience on women. Al Bukhari and Muslim reported in their books of authentic Hadiths on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I advise you to take care of the women, for they are created from a rib and the most crooked portion of the rib is its upper part; if you try to straighten it, it will break, but if you leave it, it will remain crooked, so I urge you to take care of the women."[1]

Imam Muslim reported in his Sahih on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Satan places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments (for creating dissension); the nearer to him in tank are those who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says: I did so and so. And he says: You have done nothing. Then one amongst them comes and says: I did not spare so and so until I sowed the seed of discord between a husband and a wife. The Satan goes near him and says: You have done well. Al A`mash said: He then embraces him."[2]

The role of women in the occurrence of divorce is greater than men, as they bear almost 65% from the cases of divorce because of their impatience. They compare themselves to other women who lead better life which cause them to rebel against their husbands whether by their choice or by provocation from others such as satellite channels or other mass media, in addition to the delivering wives a message that husbands are tyrants and oppressors and have stolen their rights and freedom or do not make them fashionable. Mass media ask wives to rebel against their husbands, society, and religion by wicked means, starting from not responding to their demands which entailed by Allah, bother, and busy them with troubles until they fed up and try to get rid of them by divorce.

As for other causes which I knew after questioning and investigation, they are as follows:

First, Some divorce cases occur in the first year of marriage because of the lack of acquaintance between the spouses or because of not observing the Shari`ah rulings concerning looking at a bride before marriage or because of hiding the age or some defects or hastiness in taking the decision of divorce or because of not asking about one another. When these things are exposed, one of the spouses resort to separate from the other, therefore investigation for both spouses is permissible about his or her manner and religiousness.

Second, one of the spouses may be inflicted by sorcery or envy causing the other not to accept him or even look at him, and in this case both invoke Allah sincerely and keep to permissible Adhkar and Prophetic invocations.

Third, some new married youth do not feel responsibility because they cannot afford the costs the marriage, therefore they haste to take the decision of divorce, therefore the guardian of the wife should investigate about the conditions of a man before marriage. Fourth, some husbands forsake the responsibility of their children and threw the full burden on wives or frequent absence of the husband or staying outside home for late hours, deviation, not spending on them, or persecution which forces women to ask for divorce or vice-versa.

Fifth, the interference of parents or relatives in the problems of the spouses and corrupting their life either deliberately or in deliberately. Sixth, burdening husbands over their capacity and their complaint about expenditure and housing or asking them to overlook their wives' mistakes such as going out without their permission or not fulfilling their husbands' rights. Seventh, for the people who are married to more than one wife, the second or the first may ask for divorce because their parents want them to do so. Some mass media incites wives to leave their homes when their husbands marry another woman because they consider that a betrayal and oppression to them and to their children even if the husband is just and fair. Eighth, some husbands seize the salaries of their working wives which leads to troubles then to divorce, which is not permissible. Imam Ahmad reported in his Musnad from the Hadith of Abu Hurrah Ar-Raqqashy from his uncle (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The money of a Muslim is not lawful for another except by the free will of the other Muslim."[3] Of the important matters which I should draw people's attention to is: If a husband wants divorce, he should consider the following:

1- He should ask Allah for guidance and consult righteous people and relatives, and do not approach divorce except for clear reasons.

2- Divorce should be done when a wife is pure [not in her menses].

3- He should not divorce his wife more than one divorce.

4- A wife should not leave her home and a husband should not make her do that as long as she is in the waiting period because they may fix things up and go back in marriage again. "You (the one who divorces his wife) know not it may be that Allâh will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e. to return her back to you if that was the first or second divorce)." [Surat At-Talaq: 1] Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. May Allah send His Peace and Blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions!