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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Jurisprudence Made Easy Dialogue on divorce Allah Almighty hates divorce. Traditions discouraging divorce abound. It has been narrated from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.), “There is nothing more hateful to Allah, the Exalted, than divorce”. The Imam (a.s.) was also quoted as saying, “Marry and do not divorce your wives, for divorce causes the Throne to rock”. * Is it that abhorrent?

●Yes, and to keep abreast with the rules of divorce, I am going to outline the conditions that should be fulfilled so that divorce can be deemed valid. The party who is filing for divorce must be adult, sane, and have free will. That is, a divorce coming from a boy, the insane, or one who is under duress is invalid. The intent, by either or both parties, to go their own separate ways.

That is, the divorce shall not be in order when it is done in jest, inadvertently, or by someone who is not able to discern what it means to divorce one’s partner. * What is the formal wording of divorce? - Divorce shall not be enforced, unless a particular procedure is followed. The formal wording of divorce should be recited in Arabic, for those who can speak the language, in the presence of two witnesses of impeccable character.

The husband may utter the following, “My wife - mentioning her name - is hereby divorced”. If she is present, he could say to her, “You are divorced”. If there is a proxy acting on behalf of the husband, he could say, “The wife of my mandator - stating her name - is hereby divorced”. There and then, divorce becomes a reality. * Is it compulsory to mention the name of the wife? - No, it is not necessary, if she is known, identifiable, and the husband does not have any other wife beside her.

However, divorce cannot be carried out, unless the wife is free from haydh or nifas, except for a wife in a marriage that was not consummated, a pregnant woman, and some cases of absent husbands. The husband is not permitted to divorce his wife, who was tahir of haydh, after having a sexual intercourse with her; he should wait until she had her next haydh and become tahir thereof. Only then can he divorce her. In a temporary marriage there shall be no divorce.

Instead, the expiration of the agreed duration of marriage heralds the end of the relationship. If separation is sought before the end of the duration of marriage, the husband can grant the wife the remaining period by saying, “I grant you the remaining period”.

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