Shari'ah & Divorce

This subject is covered in Book N of "Reliance Of The Traveller".

Chapter N2.0: General Provisions Concerning Divorce
N2.1
A free man has three pronouncements of divorce (O: because of the word of Allah Most High,
"Divorce is two times, then retain with kindness or graciously release'' (Koran 2:229),
and when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was asked about the third time, he
said.
"It is Allah's having said, or graciously release''').
Chapter N3.0: The Words that Effect a Divorce
N3.1
The words that effect a divorce may be plain or allusive. Plain words effect the divorce whether
one intends divorce by them or not, while allusive words do not effect it unless one intends
divorce by them.
N3.2 Using plain words to effect a divorce means expressly pronouncing the word divorce (O: or
words
derived from it). When the husband says' "I divorce you,'' or "You are divorced,'' the wife is
divorced
whether he has made the intention or not.
(A: Here and in the rulings below, expressions such as "The wife is divorced,'' or "The divorce is
effected,'' mean just one of the three times (def: n9.0(N:) ) necessary to finalize it, unless the
husband thereby intends a two-or threefold divorce (dis: n3.5) or repeats the words three times.)

Child Custody
Heads up! This is one of the most important issues in family law, do not overlook it!!! It is covered in
Book M, dealing with Marriage. A divorced Muslima who remarries loses child custody. A Christian
divorced by a Muslim can not obtain child custody because Kuffar are not permitted to have authority over
Muslims. Do you want this enforced in our courts???
m13.2 The necessary conditions for a person to
have custody of a child are:
(a) uprightness (def: 024.4) (0: a corrupt
person may not be a guardian, because child care
is a position of authority, and the corrupt are

unqualified for it. Mawardi and Ruyani hold that

outward uprightness (def: m3.3(f) is sufficient
unless there is open wrongdoing. If the corruptness
of a child's mother consists of her not performing
the prayer (sal at) , she has no right to
custody of the child, who might grow up to be like
her, ending up in the same vile condition of not
praying, for keeping another's company has its
effects);
(b) sanity (0: since a mother uninterruptedly
insane has no right to custody, though if her
insanity is slight. such as a single day per year. her
right to custody is not vitiated by it);
(c) and if the child is Muslim, it is a necessary
condition that the person with custody be a Muslim
(0: because it is a position of authority, and a
non-Muslim has no right to authority and hence
no right to raise a Muslim. If a non-Muslim were
given charge of the custody and upbringing of the
child, the child might acquire the character traits
of unbelief (kufr.
m13A A woman has no right to custody (A: of
her child from a previous marriage) when she
remarries (0: because married life will occupy her
with fulfilling the rights of her husband and prevent
her from tending the child. It makes no difference
in such cases if the (A: new) husband
agrees or not (N: since the child's custody in such
a case automatically devolves to the next most
eligible on the list (dis: m13.I)), unless the person
she marries is someone (A: on the list) who is
entitled to the child's c!Jstody anyway (0: as
opposed to someone unrelated to the child, since
such a person, even if willing, does not deserve
custody because he lacks the tenderness for the
child that a relative would have).