Divorce in Islam?

Divorce in Islam – Meaning & Definition

Divorce is the last stage to end a marriage in Islam.  Divorce is the final step to end the responsibilities and duties of each other in marriage. In other words, it is the legal action taken by both partners to end the Marriage. Apart from death, divorce is the only way that can separate both spouses after they got married. Here we will get to know the information about divorce in Islam, its laws, and procedure.

Islam emphasizes that married life should be full of understanding, empathy, and peace. Marriage is the reason for many blessings in someone’s life. Each partner is responsible for certain duties which should be fulfilled in a loving manner for the best interests of the members of the family.

Allah SWT demoralizes talaq and ALLAH SWT asks Muslims to continue their marriage, as talaD is considered as the most disliked permissible action in Islam. If it becomes impossible for both of the partners to continue their marriage, they can follow Islamic procedures for separation. As Quran, it furnishes this procedure step by step-in easy-going manner also with the probability of the withdrawal of this step.

Reasons for Divorce

Many scholars have looked into the reasons for the separation between married couples. There are certain easily measurable factors that cause separation.

1. Lack of Dedication:

In many types of research, scholars asked divorced people to choose the reason for their separation, lack of dedication was one of the most important reasons answered by them. Many people blamed the other partner for not paying attention or doing any work to save the marriage to avoid divorce.

2. Incompatibility between spouses

One of the main reasons for divorce is incompatibility. Incompatibility in marriage means that you and your partner have many differences and core beliefs that work too hard and it becomes impossible for both partners to continue their married life. Reasons for incompatibility can be marrying at too young an age, differences in religion can also be the main reason.

3. Problem in Communication

Too many arguments in any relationship can cause problems in long term. Not being able to talk to each other and having poor communication skills can also be the reason for divorce. You should keep an eye on the arguments that frequently take place so that you can resolve them at the earliest possible to avoid further problems in your married life.

4. Disputes on Responsibilities

20% of the divorced couples cited the reason for their divorce that the other partner was not fulfilling the mutual responsibilities. They had disputes over not raising kids well or other responsibilities of the family. Obligations of households were also the reason for their disputes.

5. Disputes Over Financial Matters

Financial incompatibility causes disagreements between many married partners. Disagreements over money are called financial incompatibility. There are many indications of financial incompatibility such as if one partner is not telling the other one about the major purchases or to take any action that can affect the joint finance. Problems can also be created when both the partners set the financial goals but only one is doing hard work to meet those goals and another one is not doing any effort to meet those goals.

Kinds of Divorce:

Talaq also has three kinds.

Talaq e Ahsan

Talaq e Hasan

Talaq e biddat

Our Holy Prophet Muhhamad PBUH finalized talaq e Ahsan and Talaq e Hassan as they both are considered as the most logical kinds of divorce.

1. Talaq e Ahsan

One time declaration of talaq by the husband is known as talaq e Ahsan. Talaq e Ahsan is followed by Iddat. The period of iddat in Islam is 90 days or three lunar months. Talaq e Ahsan is made during the time of Tuhr. Tuhr is the time between the two menstruation periods.

It is followed by the temperance from going to the wife to build the marital relationship till the end of iddat. Although after the end of iddat, talaq becomes effective. It is counted as irreversible talaq as the couple is not allowed to continue the marital relationship unless they contract fresh nikkah with their new Haq Mahar.

However, if someone practices it 3 times then they can’t marry again. Talaq Ahsan is considered the most appropriate and right form of divorce.

2. TALAQ-E-HASAN

In talaq e Hasan, the husband repeats the word talaq thrice, but divorce becomes constructive after the period of 90 days when both parties don’t want a reunion. The word Talaq is expressed in the duration of 90 days, one talaq per month. The same process is mandatory to follow like after the pronouncement of the first talaq and expiry of the first 30 days.

If martial relations have not been resumed, then the talaq is expressed again in the same manner. But after the 2^nd talaq, if both parties are agreed to continue their marital relationship, then the talaq becomes reversible, but after the 3^rd talaq, it becomes irreversible to do so. After the 3^rd talaq, the wife is bounded to observe the iddat.

Iddat is the period during which a woman is forbidden to remarry. The main aim of iddat is to make sure that the male parent of any family can be plainly recognizable.

3. TALAQ-E-BIDDAT OR TRIPLE TALAQ

Talaq e biddat or triple talaq is the 3^rd form of talaq. This becomes practical after a single expression of talaq like I talaq you reversibly or 3 constantly talaqs such as talaq, talaq, talaq at the same time. Talaq e biddat is irreversible at the moment it is expressed. In Quran, the talaq e biddat is not mentioned anywhere. Talaq e biddat was introduced after the death of the Holy Prophet to breakout the strictness of the law.

How to Avoid Divorce:

There are certain proactive measures that married people can take to make a strong relationship with each other. To make the relationship strong, both the partners should work together, it should work in both ways. Both the partners should complement each other on regular basis.

They should stay loyal to each other. Both the partners should love each other in a way that they want to b treated. They should always take care of their appearance; they should dress neatly and beautifully and according to the choice of the other partner.

They should communicate to each other about the expectations they have from their married life so that the other one should already have the knowledge about the expectations and how to fulfill those expectations.

Both the partners should work on forgiving each other if one commits a mistake. If one person will hold grudges about the other person then the downfall of the marriage will begin. Always keep in mind that forgiveness is a gift that you give to yourself in order to keep yourself in peace and harmony.

Holding onto a grudge will take all our positive energy and we would be surrounded by negative thoughts about our partner. For a happy marriage life, always remember that don’t try to control your partner. Always give space to your partner to do whatever he wants to do. If you will try to have control over your partner, then you will be at risk of being emotionally abusive. Having respect for each other is the key to a successful married life.