What Is the Ruling on Talaq in Cases of Conditional Statements, Text Messages, and Actions During ’Iddah?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

What is the ruling on the validity of talaq in the following cases: initiating intimacy during ‘idda without the intent of ruju‘ but later accepting a Hanafi opinion to avoid sin, issuing talaq with the condition “I give you talaq on the condition you return the mahr after ‘idda finishes” (does idda begin after fulfilling the condition, and would repayment of mahr for unrelated reasons post-idda activate talaq?), and issuing talaq via text saying, “I give you talaq”?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Initiating Ruju Without Intent

Jurists have mentioned two methods for effecting revoke of divorce (ruju), one through speech and the other through action. When ruju is intended through action, it is conditioned by the presence of lust and desire. If there is no desire, then ruju cannot be established. Your query will be based on this clarification. [Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Conditioning Divorce Upon Accepting Return of Dowry

If you have conditioned divorce upon the repayment of the dowry after the idda, and your wife has accepted this condition, then the divorce will be effected immediately, and she will have to give the dowry after the completion of the idda. [Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Issuing Divorce Via Text

Verbal and spoken statements are not a necessary condition for the validity of a divorce (talaq). Instead, divorce is also effected using the written word.

“Similarly, issuing a divorce verbally is not a condition. Hence, divorce will be effected with clear writing, or with the understood sign (ishara) of a dumb person, because the clear written word is in place of the verbal statement”.  [Kasani, Bada’i al-Sana’i]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.

– Can a Woman Obtain an Islamic Divorce over the Phone or in Writing?
– What Is the Fiqh of Divorce? Is Pronouncing a Divorce in Front of Witnesses Necessary?
– How Should One Handle Doubts about a Divorce Taking Place? [Video] 

I pray this helps answer your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat 

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.