The nazim of Dar-ul-Ifta submitted a report to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa about the conditional or suspended divorce [al-talaq al-mu‘allaq].
While commenting on the report, Huzooraa, in a letter dated 25 September 2020, stated:
“In my opinion, the instructions of the Promised Messiahas and Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra regarding the conditional divorce are very clear and, in light of these references, it has been established that a conditional talaq would indeed become effective upon the fulfilment of the set condition.”
The instructions of the Promised Messiahas and Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, mentioned in Huzoor’saa letter, are being reproduced below for the benefit of the readers. (Editor)
The Promised Messiahas said regarding conditional talaq:
“If there is a condition that if such and such happens then one would be considered to have issued talaq [divorce] and if that condition is actually met, then that talaq would become effective indeed. For example, if a person says that if he ate such and such fruit then he would be considered to have issued talaq, if he then indeed ate such fruit, the divorce would become effective.” (Badr, Vol. 2, dated 12 June 1903, p. 162)
“The Promised Messiahas said that the belief of Maulvi [Muhammad Hussain Batalvi] Sahib that hadith took precedence over the Holy Quran was by no means correct or appropriate.
“Respected audience! It is worth noting that the Holy Quran is ‘the recited revelation’ [al-Wahi al-Matluw] and this Majestic Word was collected in its entirety during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa, and it was thus the Word of God. Conversely, the ahadith had no such arrangement, nor were they compiled during the time of the Holy Prophetsa and they do not have the same rank and status as the Noble Quran because they have reached us through a chain of narrators. [Given all this] if a person swears saying ‘Every letter of the Holy Quran is the Word of God and if it is not the Word of God, then I should be considered to have issued talaq [divorce] to my wife’, then his wife would not be considered to have been legally divorced. [However] a person who swears with regard to hadith by saying, ‘Every letter and every word of the ahadith is the same as that which was uttered by the tongue of the Messengersa of Allah, and if that is not the case, then I should be considered to have issued talaq to my wife’, then his wife would indeed be considered to have been legally divorced without any iota of doubt.
“This is a summary of the spoken words of the Promised Messiahas.” (Tazkirat-ul-Mahdi, by Hazrat Pir Siraj-ul-Haq Nu‘manira, p. 161, published in June 1915)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said in this regard:
“Someone wrote to his wife, saying, ‘If I ever called you to this certain house or you went there yourself, then I shall be considered to have issued a talaq to you.’ However, now he wants to invite his wife to that certain house. It was replied to him that one talaq would become effective if [his wife] went to that house but he could return [ruju‘] to her immediately without a new nikah. However, if the stipulated period [for ruju‘] passed, then he could only return [ruju‘] to her after a [new] nikah.” (Al Fazl Qadian, Vol. 2, No. 113, dated 14 March 1915, p. 2)