Ruling on marriage with the intention of divorce
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Your Eminence! We heard a fatwa attributed to Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him),And it was said: stating that Your Eminence also issued a ruling to that effect, namely that it is permissible for a man to marry with the intention of divorce. What is the validity of this fatwa?
Yes.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta mentioned that it is permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce in order to prevent what he fears of falling into fornication. They distinguished this from temporary marriage (mut'ah), because temporary marriage is deferred for a specified period; when the period ends, the marriage is dissolved, and it is forbidden.I mean: Temporary marriage—and this issue, which I mean a stranger marrying with the intention of divorce—has disagreement among the scholars.So some of them said: That it is permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce.Meaning: That he is a husband to this woman as long as he is in this country, and his intention is that whenever he travels, he will divorce her.
And some scholars said: That it is not permissible; and this is the well-known position in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). It is known in the books of his later followers that it is not permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce.They said: Because this is an intention of temporary marriage; because if you asked this stranger why he married, would you want to be her husband as a residence for you? Would you want children to be born to you from her?He would say: I do not want this or that. I want to enjoy her as long as I am in this country, and to protect myself from what I fear of falling into fornication.So we say: So you did not intend with this marriage the legal purpose of marriage; because the legal purpose in marriage is that the woman be a residence for the husband.As Allah the Exalted said: [Ar-Rum: 21] Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Actions are only by intentions, and every person will have what he intended."
Then this opinion is exploited by those weak in faith for bad purposes, as we have heard that some people go during the vacation—Meaning: during the break from lessons—to other countries to marry only with the intention of divorce. It was related to me that some of them marry several times during this break only, so it is as if they went to satisfy their desire, which is similar to fornication, and may Allah protect us from that.
And for this reason, we see that even if permissibility is stated, it should not be opened up; because it has become a means to what I mentioned.
As for my opinion in that, I say: The marriage contract is valid in itself; because every person marries and intends that if he desires, he will stay with the woman, and if he does not desire, he will leave her. But there is deception and fraud in it, so it is forbidden from this aspect. The deception and fraud is that if the wife and her guardian knew this husband's intention and that his intention is to enjoy her for a period and then divorce her, they would not marry him to him. So there is deception and fraud towards them. If he reveals to them that he wants to stay with her for the duration of his stay in this country and they agree to that, it becomes temporary marriage. Therefore, I see that it is forbidden. But if someone dares and does it, the marriage is valid.
Yes.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta mentioned that it is permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce in order to prevent what he fears of falling into fornication. They distinguished this from temporary marriage (mut'ah), because temporary marriage is deferred for a specified period; when the period ends, the marriage is dissolved, and it is forbidden.I mean: Temporary marriage—and this issue, which I mean a stranger marrying with the intention of divorce—has disagreement among the scholars.So some of them said: That it is permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce.Meaning: That he is a husband to this woman as long as he is in this country, and his intention is that whenever he travels, he will divorce her.
And some scholars said: That it is not permissible; and this is the well-known position in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). It is known in the books of his later followers that it is not permissible for a stranger to marry with the intention of divorce.They said: Because this is an intention of temporary marriage; because if you asked this stranger why he married, would you want to be her husband as a residence for you? Would you want children to be born to you from her?He would say: I do not want this or that. I want to enjoy her as long as I am in this country, and to protect myself from what I fear of falling into fornication.So we say: So you did not intend with this marriage the legal purpose of marriage; because the legal purpose in marriage is that the woman be a residence for the husband.As Allah the Exalted said:
And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجاً لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَاThen this opinion is exploited by those weak in faith for bad purposes, as we have heard that some people go during the vacation—Meaning: during the break from lessons—to other countries to marry only with the intention of divorce. It was related to me that some of them marry several times during this break only, so it is as if they went to satisfy their desire, which is similar to fornication, and may Allah protect us from that.
And for this reason, we see that even if permissibility is stated, it should not be opened up; because it has become a means to what I mentioned.
As for my opinion in that, I say: The marriage contract is valid in itself; because every person marries and intends that if he desires, he will stay with the woman, and if he does not desire, he will leave her. But there is deception and fraud in it, so it is forbidden from this aspect. The deception and fraud is that if the wife and her guardian knew this husband's intention and that his intention is to enjoy her for a period and then divorce her, they would not marry him to him. So there is deception and fraud towards them. If he reveals to them that he wants to stay with her for the duration of his stay in this country and they agree to that, it becomes temporary marriage. Therefore, I see that it is forbidden. But if someone dares and does it, the marriage is valid.