Can I Reconcile with My Wife After Two Divorces and a Khul’?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

My wife and I went through two divorces and then agreed to a khul‘. After learning my wife is pregnant, we want to reconcile. Can we remarry after a khul‘ since it annuls the marriage?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

You have gone through three divorces; you went through two before, and now, with the khul‘, it has amounted to three. Your only way now is if your ex-wife remarries. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Can You Stay Together?

You cannot remain together unless she remarries someone else and consummates the marriage;  if it happens, this marriage with the second husband breaks down, and she has separated again, spends her waiting period (‘idda), and they agree to remarry with a renewed commitment. In such a case, the divorces allowed will return to zero under a new marriage contract.

Given the considerations in such cases, we urge you to consult reliable local scholars about the specifics of the situation and the way forward.

I pray to Allah Most High that He facilitates ease for you both and destines what is khayr for you, amin.

Related

• A Guide to Marriage: SeekersGuidance Reader – SeekersGuidance
• Divorce Archives – SeekersGuidance
• Does Intercourse Completely Reset the Number of Divorces Back to Zero? – SeekersGuidance
• Does Divorce Come in Effect in Extreme Anger? (seekersguidance.org)

I pray this helps with your question.

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

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening