Also, he asks about the authenticity of this hadith: “The most disliked of lawful things to Allah is divorce.”

The questioner : I am asking about the authenticity of this hadith: ?

The Shaykh : This one is also not authentic; it is weak. However, there is no doubt that divorce is contrary to what is best. Allah the Exalted has commanded patience with one’s wife, and this also came in the Sunnah. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: This is an indication that a person should be patient with his wife, even if he dislikes something about her. In the Sunnah, it is said: meaning he does not hate her. Accordingly, a person should not divorce except in cases of pressing need or dire necessity. Likewise, if she asks for divorce because she is harmed by her husband, or is hurt by him, or for similar reasons, the husband should agree to her request. However, some women ask for divorce for a trivial reason, but when they are angry, they demand divorce for that reason. If the divorce takes place, they regret it greatly and return to their husband asking him to take them back. This may happen after the opportunity has passed, or it may be the third divorce, in which case the husband divorces her in response to the wife’s desire, and then regret ensues for both of them. On this occasion, I would like to offer two pieces of advice. The first piece of advice is for the husband: he should not rush to respond to his wife if she asks for divorce, because a woman is deficient in intellect and reasoning; her thinking does not extend beyond her feet. She may ask for divorce in a state of anger and then regret it greatly once it happens. The husband should be broader in his chest and further-sighted than she is. He should prevent her and not respond to what she asked for. If she makes things difficult for him, he should leave the house and then return later, perhaps her anger will have subsided. The important thing is that he does not rush. If he rushes in this state, he has no excuse. Some husbands even say, “I was forced to divorce her because she asked me for it and persisted with me, or because her father asked for it and persisted with me, or something similar.” This is not considered coercion, and he has no excuse for it; the divorce is effective. As for the second piece of advice, it is for the wife: she should not rush to ask her husband for divorce. Rather, she should be patient and endure, time after time, until she loses hope of reconciliation and improvement. In that case, there is no harm, for Allah has made a way out for every difficulty. However, it is not befitting for her to rush and want her husband to do her will in every matter. This most often happens when a husband marries another wife; at that time, she hastens to ask for divorce and persist with it, and she regrets it when regret is of no avail. My advice to her is to be patient and seek reward from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for her patience and endurance of harm. Allah the Exalted will make a way out and an exit for her.