What is the ruling on a man who divorces his wife before consummating the marriage?

The questioner : Yes. Al-salamu alaykum. And upon you be peace. I will give you the question, O long-lived one, may Allah reward you with good. Please, we have a son whose marriage was contracted to his cousin’s daughter four months ago. I am with you, Shaykh? And three days before Ramadan, before breaking the fast, we told him, “Go greet your wife, show her courtesy, and chat with them.” Some friction arose between him and his brothers. As a result of that, and during the breaking of the fast, he said, “You have angered me, and so-and-so, the daughter of so-and-so, is divorced with three divorces.”

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : We stopped speaking, we did not inform the girl’s family, and we remained silent. We are seeking a ruling on this matter. What is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh? May Allah reward you with good?

The Shaykh : Has he had intercourse with her?

The questioner : No, she is still a virgin; the wedding has not taken place yet, it is during the vacation.

The Shaykh : I am asking you, has he had intercourse with her?

The questioner : He has not gone to her nor reached her, except at the palace. We are in al-Kharj and she is in Jeddah.

The Shaykh : And he did not go to her home.

The questioner : And he did not go, he is still here, we only said he would go to her, and he said, “No, I will not go to her except at the wedding, just once.”

The Shaykh : Since the man has said that she is divorced three times, she is divorced, and she has no waiting period, and she is entitled to half the mahr. If he wishes now to contract a new marriage with her, he may do so.

The questioner : If there is a new contract, it is permissible, and if there is a second opinion?

The Shaykh : No, there is no second opinion. I am telling you now, since he divorced her without having intercourse with her, she is divorced immediately.

The questioner : He divorced her immediately.

The Shaykh : And no, no, no, there is no waiting period, nothing, and no taking her back.

The questioner : Her family was not informed, nor anything else.

The Shaykh : You did not inform her family, and she has no waiting period, nothing at all, but she is entitled to half the mahr. If, for example, the mahr given to her was thirty thousand, she gets fifteen thousand. Likewise, if he now wishes to marry her, there is no harm in marrying her with a new contract.

The questioner : With a new contract.

The Shaykh : And a new dowry and a new mahr. Yes. Yes, indeed.

The presenter : Yes, this is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. May Allah have mercy on your parents.