A woman’s condition that her co-wife be divorced
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Fatwa number ( 18727 )
Q: I married a woman and lived with her for four and a half years, but Allah did not grant me any offspring from her. I desired to marry again and proposed to my cousin’s daughter; for she is, praise be to Allah, committed and fears Allah (Mighty and Majestic). She agreed to the marriage but made it a condition that I divorce my first wife. I refused the condition and spent a month thinking about it, and then I agreed to the condition because I
said to myself: If I marry her, I will remind her of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and she will agree to take back my first wife. After the marriage, I heard the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): (It is not permissible to marry a woman on the condition of divorcing her sister). I feared that this hadith might mean our marriage is invalid, and that hers is likewise. So we said: We will ask the honorable Shaykh about the authenticity of this hadith. If our marriage is invalid, what must we do? Do I take back my wife and our marriage becomes valid, or what expiation is required of us? My wife said: If there is doubt in our marriage, I have no objection to you taking back your first wife. I ask you to advise my wife to agree to the return of my first wife. May Allah reward you with good.
A: If the matter is as you described, your marriage contract with the second woman is valid, and you are not required to fulfill the condition, which is the divorce of your first wife; because it is a defective condition. You may take back your wife if the divorce was revocable, as long as she is in the waiting period. If her waiting period has ended, you may take her back with a new contract with its conditions considered valid by the Shari'ah. The hadith you mentioned in your question with the wording: (It is not permissible to marry a woman on the condition of divorcing her sister) was not transmitted in this wording. Rather, what was transmitted is what Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:Riyad as-Salihin 1775 ... until he said:
He said:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 5:438 It was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim and al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i and Ahmad, and this is the wording of al-Bukhari . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I married a woman and lived with her for four and a half years, but Allah did not grant me any offspring from her. I desired to marry again and proposed to my cousin’s daughter; for she is, praise be to Allah, committed and fears Allah (Mighty and Majestic). She agreed to the marriage but made it a condition that I divorce my first wife. I refused the condition and spent a month thinking about it, and then I agreed to the condition because I
said to myself: If I marry her, I will remind her of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and she will agree to take back my first wife. After the marriage, I heard the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): (It is not permissible to marry a woman on the condition of divorcing her sister). I feared that this hadith might mean our marriage is invalid, and that hers is likewise. So we said: We will ask the honorable Shaykh about the authenticity of this hadith. If our marriage is invalid, what must we do? Do I take back my wife and our marriage becomes valid, or what expiation is required of us? My wife said: If there is doubt in our marriage, I have no objection to you taking back your first wife. I ask you to advise my wife to agree to the return of my first wife. May Allah reward you with good.
A: If the matter is as you described, your marriage contract with the second woman is valid, and you are not required to fulfill the condition, which is the divorce of your first wife; because it is a defective condition. You may take back your wife if the divorce was revocable, as long as she is in the waiting period. If her waiting period has ended, you may take her back with a new contract with its conditions considered valid by the Shari'ah. The hadith you mentioned in your question with the wording: (It is not permissible to marry a woman on the condition of divorcing her sister) was not transmitted in this wording. Rather, what was transmitted is what Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade that a person in the city should make a deal on behalf of a villager on commission
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يبيع حاضر لبادHe said:
And do not ask a woman to divorce her sister so that you may empty her vessel
ولا تسأل المرأة طلاق أختها لِتَكْفِئَ ما في إنائها
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.