Muslims, how does a man divorce his wife in the religion?

Question

Does he have to do it 3 times? Does the wife have to sign papers? This is a very serious personal question.

Non-musims and hecklers please overlook this question

Answer 1

. * A man who divorces his wife must be adult and sane, Similarly, a man should divorce of his own free will, therefore, if someone compels him to divorce his wife, that divorce will be void. It is also necessary that a man seriously intends to divorce; therefore, if he pronounces the formula of divorce jokingly, the divorce will not be valid.

. It is necessary that at the time of divorce, wife is Pak from Haidth and Nifas, and that the husband should not have had sexual intercourse with her during that period.

. * It is valid to divorce a woman even if she is in Haidh or Nifas in the following circumstances:

(i) If the husband has not had sexual intercourse with her after marriage.

(ii) If it is known that she is pregnant. And if this fact is not known and the husband divorces her during Haidh, and he comes to know later that she was pregnant, that divorce will be valid, and as a recommended precaution he should divorce her again.

(iii) If due to the husband's absence or imprisonment, he is not able to ascertain whether or not she is Pak from Haidth or Nifas. But in this case, as an obligatory precaution, man must wait for at least one month after separation from his wife and then divorce.

2510. If a man thinks that his wife is Pak from Haidh and divorces her, but it transpires later that at the time of divorce she was in the state of Haidh, the divorce is void. And if he thinks that she is in the state of Haidh and divorces her, and it is later known that she was Pak, the divorce is in order.

2511. * If a person who knows that his wife is in Haidh or Nifas, is separated from her, like when he proceeds on a journey, and wishes to divorce her, he should wait till such time when he becomes sure that his wife must have become Pak from her Haidh or Nifas. Thereafter, having known that she is Pak, he can divorce her. And if he is in doubt he will act according to rule no. 2509 for precaution.

2512. * If a man who is separated from his wife wishes to divorce her and can acquire information as to whether or not she is in the state of Haidh or Nifas, even if that information is based on her habit, or any other signs known in Shariah, if he divorces her and later finds out that his information was wrong, the divorce will be void.

2513. * If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife during her Pak period, and then wishes to divorce her, he should wait till she enters into Haidh again and becomes Pak. But if the wife has not completed her ninth year, or if she is pregnant, she can be divorced after the sexual intercourse. The same rule applies to a wife in menopause. The meaning of menopause has been explained in rule no. 2457).

2514. * If a person has sexual intercourse with a woman during her Pak period and divorces her during the same period, and if it transpires later that she was pregnant at the time of divorce, the divorce will be void. As a recommended precaution, he should divorce her again.

2515. * If a person had sexual intercourse with his wife during her Pak period, and then separated from her, like, if he proceeded on journey and wishes to divorce her then, not knowing whether she is Pak or not, he should wait till such time when the wife enters into the state of Haidh and becomes Pak once again. And, as an obligatory precaution, this period should not be less than one month.

2516. * If a man wishes to divorce his wife who does see blood of Haidh at all by habit, or because of some disease, while other women of her age habitually see Haidh, he should refrain from having sexual intercourse with her for three months from the time he has had the intercourse, and then divorce her.

2517. * It is necessary that the formula of divorce is pronounced in correct Arabic using the word "Taliq"; and two just ('Adil) persons should hear it. If the husband wishes to pronounce the formula of divorce himself and his wife's name is, for example, Fatima, he should say: Zawjati Fatima taliq (i.e. my wife Fatima is divorced) and if he appoints another person as his Wakil to pronounce the formula of divorce, the Wakil should say: Zawjatu muwakkili Fatima taliq (Fatima, the wife of my client is divorced). And if the woman is identified, it is not necessary to mention her name. And if the husband cannot pronounce divorce in Arabic, or cannot find a Wakil to do so, he can divorce in any language using the words of the same meaning as in Arabic formula.

2518. There is no question of of divorce in the case of a woman with whom temporary marriage is contracted, for example, for one month or one year. She becomes free when the period of her marriage expires or when the man forgoes the period of her marriage by saying: "I hereby exempt you from the remaining time of marriage", and it is not necessary to have a witness nor that the woman should be Pak from her Haidh.

Iddah of Divorce (The Waiting Period after Divorce)
2519. A wife who is under nine and who is in her menopause will not be required to observe any waiting period. It means that, even if the husband has had sexual intercourse with her, she can remarry immediately after being divorced.

2520. * If a wife who has completed nine years of her age and is not in menopause, is divorced by her husband after sexual intercourse, it is necessary for her to observe the waiting period of divorce. The waiting period of a free woman is that after her husband divorces her during her Pak period, she should wait till she sees Haidh twice and becomes Pak. Thereafter, as soon as she sees Haidh for the third time, her waiting period will be over and she can marry again. If, however, a husband divorces his wife before having sexual intercourse with her, there is no waiting period for her and she can marry another man immediately after being divorced, except if she finds traces of her husband's semen in her private part, then she should observe Iddah.

2521. If a woman does not see Haidh in spite of being the age of women who normally see Haidh, if her husband divorces her after sexual intercourse, she should observe Iddah for three months after divorce.

2522. * If a woman whose Iddah is of three months, is divorced on the first of a month, she should observe Iddah for three lunar months, that is, for three months from the time the moon is sighted. And if she is divorced during the month, she should observe Iddah for the remaining days in the month added to two months thereafter, and again for the balance from the fourth month so as to complete three months. For example, if she is divorced on the 20th of the month at the time of sunset and that month is of 29 days, she should observe Iddah for nine days of that month and the two months following it, and for twenty days of the fourth month. In fact, the obligatory precaution is that in the fourth month, she should observe Iddah for twenty one days so that the total number of the days of the first month and the fourth month comes to thirty.

2523. * If a pregnant woman is divorced, her Iddah lasts till the birth or miscarriage of the child. Hence, if, for example, she gives birth to a child one hour after being divorced, her Iddah is over. But this is in the case of a legitimate child of the husband who is divorcing. If the pregnancy is illegitimate, and her husband divorces her, the Iddah will not be over.

2524. * If a woman who has completed nine years of age, and is not in menopause, contracts a temporary marriage, for example, if she marries a man for a period of one month or a year and the period of her marriage comes to an end, or her husband exempts her from the remaining period, she should observe Iddah. If she sees Haidh, she should observe Iddah for two periods of Haidh, and cannot marry again during that period. But if she does not see Haidh, then she should refrain from marrying another man for forty five days. And if she is pregnant, she should observe Iddah till the birth or miscarriage of the child, or for forty five days and as a recommended precaution, she should wait for whichever period is longer.

2525. The time of the Iddah of divorce commences when the formula of divorce is pronounced, irrespective of whether the wife knows about it or not. Hence, if she comes to know after the end of the Iddah that she had been divorced, it is not necessary for her to observe Iddah again

Various Rules Regarding Divorce
2545. If a man had sexual intercourse with a non-mehram woman under the impression that she was his wife, the woman should observe Iddah, irrespective of whether she knew that the man was not her husband or thought that perhaps he was her husband.

2546. * If a man commits fornication with a woman knowing that she is not his wife, it is not necessary for the woman to observe Iddah. But if she thought that the man was probably her husband, as an obligatory precaution, she should observe Iddah.

2547. * If a man seduces a woman so that her husband decides to divorce her and then she can marry him, the divorce and marriage are in order, but both of them have committed a major sin.

2548. * If a woman lays a condition at the time of Nikah that if her husband goes on a journey or, for example, does not give her maintenance for six months, she will have the right of divorce, the condition is void. However, if she lays a condition that if her husband goes on a journey or, for example, does not give her maintenance for six months, she will be his Wakil for her own divorce, the condition is in order.

2549. If the husband of a woman disappears and she wishes to marry another man, she should approach an 'Adil Mujtahid and act according to his directive.

2550. The father and the paternal grandfather of an insane man can divorce his wife.

2551. If the father or paternal grandfather of a child contracts a temporary marriage between him and a woman, and a part of the period fixed for the marriage covers some of the time when the child will have attained the age of bulugh, for example, if he contracts the marriage of a fourteen years old boy for a period of two years - he (the father or the paternal grandfather of the child) can exempt the woman from a part of the period of marriage if doing so, is in the interest of the child, but he cannot divorce the child's permanent wife.

2552. If a man considers two person to be just ('Adil) according to the standard prescribed in Shariah, and divorces his wife in their presence, another person to whom their being 'Adil is not proved can, after the expiry of that woman's Iddah, marry her or give her in marriage to another person, although the recommended precaution is that he should not marry her nor should he give her in marriage to someone else.

2553. If a person divorces his wife without informing her, and he continues to maintain her the way he did when she was his wife, and after a year tells her that he divorced her a year ago, and also proves it, he can take back from her the things which he supplied her during that period if she has not used them up, but he cannot demand from her the things which she has already expended.

Answer 2

I may not be Muslim, but I have knowledge of other cultures. The religious law, Shariah, states that divorce occurs when the husband says, "I divorce you" three times. That's the whole process by Muslim law. In countries not ruled by Shariah, the government won't recognize the divorce unless its done with the paperwork.

Answer 3

First of all, divorce is supposed to be a last resort. You only do it if you really have to...
You should first have counseling and then you should think about a divorce. You should really ask a shiekh about your situation at your local mosque. He may explain it to you in detail and may even help you solve any problems you are having.

Answer 4

he has to say it 3 times in the same spot. if he says it from different places it doesnt count.