Someone from Yemen requested the guidance of Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa regarding three divorces (talaq) he had issued to his wife. Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 23 August 2021, provided the following guidance regarding this issue:
“As a matter of fact, when a man divorces his wife, he takes this step out of anger at her behaviour that he considers unbearable and absurd. No man divorces his wife when he is happy with her. Therefore, divorce issued in such a state of anger is also effective. However, if the person was raging to such an extent that he was in a state of insanity and he hastily divorced his wife without considering the consequences, but became remorseful once the state of madness subsided and he finally realised his mistake, then for this kind of situation, the Holy Quran has said:
لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللّٰهُ بِاللَّغۡوِ فِيۡۤ اَيۡمَانِكُمۡ وَ لٰكِنۡ يُّؤَاخِذُكُمۡ بِمَا كَسَبَتۡ قُلُوۡبُكُمۡ ؕ وَ اللّٰهُ غَفُوۡرٌ حَلِيۡمٌ
“‘Allah will not call you to account for such of your oaths as are vain, but He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Forbearing.’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.226)
“Based on your description of the situation, it appears that you divorced your wife three times on different occasions, thereby exercising the right to issue up to the maximum number of three divorces as granted to a Muslim by the Holy Quran. Now, you do not have the right to reconcile [ruju‘] with your wife until the condition of حَتَّى تَنْكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ [i.e. ‘she marries another husband’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.231)] has been fulfilled.
“Anyway, in the light of these points, you should evaluate yourself and decide about yourself whether your divorce was genuine or whether it falls into the category of vain [laghw].”
