Question: According to Islamic law, a man cannot marry his wife again if he divorces her for the third time; if he wants to marry her, should he marry her first husband only after she has married another man and he has had sexual relations with her and divorced her? A non-Muslim friend asked me. I said yes. To that, the non-Muslim friend said that this is a very disgusting act and a great injustice. Explain…
B.A. Rafiq, Nellikuppam
Answer: It is not only him who can marry his wife only after another man has married and divorced her. Most men find it disgusting.
If a man divorces his wife for the third time, he will lose the opportunity to live with her or he will be in a disgusting situation and will have to marry her.
He will continue to live his life as if he had divorced his wife twice in a hurry and then got married normally. This will prolong their marriage.
God warns against this evil by pointing out this evil to deter those who divorce for the third time. This will only bring good.
We tell someone, ‘If you make this mistake, I will hit you with a shoe.’
We should not only see being hit with a shoe as evil. We should also see that he will not make that mistake out of fear of being hit by a shoe.
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| Many divorce rule |
This law is such a warning.
It is not commanded that everyone should divorce their wife for the third time and marry her to another man and marry her after he divorces her.
On the contrary, the meaning of this law is to live with your wife, fearing that this situation will happen.
Allah has knocked at a place where men feel comfortable.
Thus, there is no need for a major reason for a woman to seek a divorce. In the incident mentioned earlier, the woman did not cite any specific grievance against her husband; she simply stated that she did not like him.
The Prophet did not even ask for the reason. Had stating a reason been essential, the Prophet would certainly have inquired about it. The fact that he granted the divorce without any such inquiry demonstrates this point.
Islam does not view marriage as an unbreakable bond; instead, it regards it as a contractual agreement.
And how could you take it back when you have entered into a solemn covenant with each other and have intimately united? (Holy Quran 4:21)
Women have rights [over men] similar to the obligations they have, in a fair and equitable manner. (Holy Quran 2:228)
These verses serve as evidence that Islam grants women rights that are in no way inferior to those granted to men.
Now, let us address the issue of Triple Talaq.
Men have three opportunities to pronounce Talaq (divorce).
One may pronounce divorce once and subsequently reconcile to live together again. One may then divorce a second time and reconcile again. It is only upon the third pronouncement of divorce that reconciliation is no longer possible.
After the third divorce, the first husband can marry her again only if she marries another man and that man subsequently divorces her.
This provision exists to allow those who acted hastily in pronouncing divorce a chance to reflect, reform, and reconcile.
Due to ignorance, some Muslims pronounce "three Talaqs" all at once, thereby permanently separating from their wives. Islam does not permit this. The correct view is that if "three Talaqs" are pronounced simultaneously, it is considered as only a single divorce. During the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the pronouncement of 'triple talaq' (three divorces) was considered as a single divorce.
Narrated by: Ibn Abbas (RA)
Source: Muslim 2689
Therefore, pronouncing 'triple talaq' all at once does not exist in Islam. We are compelled to face such questions due to the ignorance of some Muslims.