A Woman's Right to End her Marriage

سورة البقرة 2:229

A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham

The Requisites of Separation by Khulʿ

Question:

If a wife wants to separate, what are her rights in the Revealed Law?

Answer (Sheikh Rushdī Salīm al-Qalam):

Praise be to Allah and He suffices, and peace be upon His Chosen Messenger,

To proceed,

Just as Allah has given men the right of divorce, He has given women the right of mukhālaʿah[1], and thus there is no blame upon either of them regarding what she pays him. The foundation of the matter is that she owns her bridal gift[2] entirely and if she wants mukhālaʿah she offers something to her husband. It is recommended that the amount not exceed what she took from him.[3] As for asking for khulʿ without a legal[4] or health reason, this is not something that is desired in Allah’s Revealed Law, Mighty and Majestic is He.

A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham

Wife Asks For Divorce And Differences Over The Amount Paid For Khulʿ

Question:

Assalām ʿalaykum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barkātuh. My question is that I want a fatwā regarding a situation in in which the wife has asked for a divorce and they have been married for a year and a half. They don’t have any children. The husband wants to take the gold even though he knows that she wore the gold when they got engaged and not when they got married. When they got married, she wore a necklace. He said that if we don’t give him the gold he won’t divorce her. Please clarify this for us. Thank you and may Allah reward you a thousand times over.

Answer (Dr Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):

It’s unlawful for a wife to ask for a divorce[5] without a legal reason.[6] If she wants, she can ask for mukhālaʿah, and mukhālaʿah is a contract or agreement to separate in exchange for an agreed-upon amount, and this amount is for the husband and wife to discuss. If the husband divorces her of his own initiative then she keeps her entire bridal gift[7] and whatever else he gave her, before or after the contract, because what she owns cannot be taken away from her.

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[1] (tn): Also known as khulʿ, which is a release from the marriage in exchange for a payment from the wife. For English readers, further information can be found in Reliance of the Traveller, section n.5, while Arabic readers can look at al-Fiqh al-Manhājī (Damascus, Dār al-Qalam, 1433/2012), v.2, p. 121-123.

[2] Ar. ṣadāq

[3] (tn): i.e. her bridal gift

[4] (tn): i.e. a legal reason in the Revealed Law

[5] Ar. ṭalāq

[6] (tn): i.e. in the Revealed Law

[7] Ar. mahr, which is the same as ṣadāq