Does a woman's divorce take place over the telephone?

The questioner : Does a woman's divorce take place over the telephone?

The Shaykh : A woman's divorce over the telephone, if the conditions of divorce are met, there is no difference between the telephone and direct interaction. This is because, as is the case today, buying and selling of everything is done over the telephone, and news is transmitted from one country to another regarding the sighting of the crescent moon. This is among the wonders of what has occurred. When the telegraph first appeared, which they used to call it previously, the jurists of that time disagreed, most of them being followers of precedent (taqlid), on whether it is permissible to establish the sighting of the crescent moon by telegraph. Because it appeared to them that this was not as you see now, where you see the images of the proceedings or the rituals of Hajj, and so on. They did not consider that this is a reality matching the actual situation. So we have no doubt that the divorce takes place if its conditions are met. And one of its precise conditions for us is witnessing the divorce. So, for example, if the one who witnesses the divorce was present, or knew the voice of the one pronouncing the divorce, and other such indications, then the matter is established and there is no repelling it.

The questioner : So does the marriage also take place?

The Shaykh : Yes, with its conditions.

The questioner : With its conditions, yes.

The Shaykh: Yes.