Divorce is considered evil and Islamic culture evades this evil as much as possible. But, if a husband and wife are helpless albeit after several attempts to save the marriage, dissolution of the bond can be accepted. Until the Muslim Marriage Act 1939, there were very few grounds on which a divorce could have been preceded; especially Muslim wives who had no authority to seek divorce on her own accord. The 1939 act has laid several grounds benefiting both men and women equally. The act extends to the whole of India except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
There are two categories of divorce in Muslim Law
- Extra Judicial Divorce;
- Talaaq, Ila and Zihar (by Husband)
- Talaaq-i-tafweez, Lian (Wife)
- Khula and Mubarat (mutual agreement)
- Judicial Divorce: Right of the wife as per to the Muslim Marriage Act 1939
- Talaaq is widespread and the most primitive form of divorce in Islam. It is most powerful and the husband has all the rights to pronounce it unilaterally and without the consent of the court. Expressing Talaaq is also important according to the Shia Law (School of Sunnis). And Talaaq can also be revoked in accordance with the dictates of Mohammad Prophet and rules of Iddat.
- Ila is when the husband declares not having a sexual relationship with his wife and if the claim is intact for 4 months, the marriage is dissolute irrevocably.
- Zihar is when the husband compares his wife to a blood relative (mother or sister) and thereafter does not cohabit with his wife for a period of 4 months. After the expiry of 4 months, Zihar is attained.
- Khula is when the wife files divorce and after the consent from husband, the wife has to part a portion of her dowry or property as compensation.
- Mubarat is completed when both desires for a healthy divorce.
- If the husband makes aggressive charges of adultery against his wife, she is entitled to seek divorce according to Lian.
- Talaaq-i-tafweez is a practice where the husband delegates the power of pronouncing divorce to his wife unconditionally or for a period of time during the prenuptial agreement.
The above points highlights the categories of Muslim Divorce Concept and not portrays an in depth knowledge.
