The Vow of Divorce
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 6680 )
Q: I have a wife, and Allah has blessed me with a daughter and two sons from her, the youngest of whom is one year old. My wife is illiterate; she cannot read or write. I was stationed in the northeastern part of our beloved Kingdom, near the border of Kuwait . Then, I requested a transfer to the southern region for the sake of caring for my parents (my father and my mother), who have no one to support them but me. By the grace of Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, who is aware of what eyes conceal and what hearts hide, and with the help of the authorities, may Allah preserve them, grant them piety, and guide their steps,
I was transferred to the region of al-Qunfudhah , which is located 160 km from my home, to settle my parents. I left my wife and children in the care of my parents, and I began performing my job duties. At the end of the week, I go to my family. My mother is elderly and also illiterate; she cannot read or write. Marital problems arose between her and my wife, and neither accepts advice or guidance from the other. I built a room, kitchen, and bathroom for my mother, 500 meters from my home, and told her: everything will come to you ready. My father is good-natured and patient with all matters; he always tries to calm the situation. But my mother cannot tolerate any word, no matter how small or large. One day, I came from work and greeted my mother, and she began complaining to me about my wife. I tried to guide her and to be patient with what she perceived from my wife, out of consideration for our children and their care. But she cried in front of me—and it was in the form of reproach. When my mother cried, I said to her: “Give me your hand, and I vow to you that I will cut off her connection.” But your patience is short; it is only until the young child grows up. This is what my conscience and my vow contained. In my view, cutting off the connection means divorcing her. But after a period of one month, things returned to their normal course, meaning: my wife maintains the connection with my mother. Perhaps this is due to her fear of the consequences of things, and I changed my mind about the idea that I would cut off her connection.
Please guide me: Is there anything upon me? Did a legal matter occur regarding my wife? And should I carry out my vow to my mother as I vowed to her? May Allah preserve and protect you for us and for the Muslim community.
A: If the situation is as you described, that you vowed to your mother that you would divorce your wife to please her, then no divorce takes place by that vow, and you are not obligated to divorce your wife to fulfill this vow. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I have a wife, and Allah has blessed me with a daughter and two sons from her, the youngest of whom is one year old. My wife is illiterate; she cannot read or write. I was stationed in the northeastern part of our beloved Kingdom, near the border of Kuwait . Then, I requested a transfer to the southern region for the sake of caring for my parents (my father and my mother), who have no one to support them but me. By the grace of Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, who is aware of what eyes conceal and what hearts hide, and with the help of the authorities, may Allah preserve them, grant them piety, and guide their steps,
I was transferred to the region of al-Qunfudhah , which is located 160 km from my home, to settle my parents. I left my wife and children in the care of my parents, and I began performing my job duties. At the end of the week, I go to my family. My mother is elderly and also illiterate; she cannot read or write. Marital problems arose between her and my wife, and neither accepts advice or guidance from the other. I built a room, kitchen, and bathroom for my mother, 500 meters from my home, and told her: everything will come to you ready. My father is good-natured and patient with all matters; he always tries to calm the situation. But my mother cannot tolerate any word, no matter how small or large. One day, I came from work and greeted my mother, and she began complaining to me about my wife. I tried to guide her and to be patient with what she perceived from my wife, out of consideration for our children and their care. But she cried in front of me—and it was in the form of reproach. When my mother cried, I said to her: “Give me your hand, and I vow to you that I will cut off her connection.” But your patience is short; it is only until the young child grows up. This is what my conscience and my vow contained. In my view, cutting off the connection means divorcing her. But after a period of one month, things returned to their normal course, meaning: my wife maintains the connection with my mother. Perhaps this is due to her fear of the consequences of things, and I changed my mind about the idea that I would cut off her connection.
Please guide me: Is there anything upon me? Did a legal matter occur regarding my wife? And should I carry out my vow to my mother as I vowed to her? May Allah preserve and protect you for us and for the Muslim community.
A: If the situation is as you described, that you vowed to your mother that you would divorce your wife to please her, then no divorce takes place by that vow, and you are not obligated to divorce your wife to fulfill this vow. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.