A telephone call between Ali Hasan and Shaykh Al-Albani regarding the issue of reconciliation between a man who contracted a marriage with a woman and her guardian, after which the guardian wishes to annul that contract

Al-Halabi : How are you, my professor?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
Al-Halabi : May Allah preserve you.

The Shaykh : How are you?
Al-Halabi : May Allah strengthen you, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : I am well.
Al-Halabi : Praise be to Allah, we hope that you are well.

The Shaykh : ... .
Al-Halabi : May Allah reward you with good, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Welcome.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, the state of the world is difficult and bitter; for as much joy as there is in it, there is the opposite. Glory be to Allah, a person may wake up happy and go to bed, I do not want to say miserable, but go to bed troubled or with a heavy heart, or something similar.

The Shaykh : Good, if Allah wills.
Al-Halabi : May Allah preserve you, our Shaykh. A few days ago, it was decreed by Allah that I be a witness to the marriage contract of one of our brothers and a sister whom we consider to be a virtuous woman in the sight of Allah, the daughter of a brother whom we also consider to be virtuous in the sight of Allah.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
Al-Halabi : May Allah bless you, but due to their young age and lack of experience, perhaps matters will arise that lead to some disagreement, in which the reconcilers and people of virtue, who may have some experience, try to speak a word of reconciliation, a word of good, and a word of righteousness, hoping that there may be success between the parties and the disputants. But glory be to Allah the Great, on this night, as I said, a week ago I was a witness to the marriage contract, and now, from Maghrib until now, we have been trying to reconcile this groom whose marriage contract we witnessed a week ago. Now, the father of the girl wants to divorce her from him.

The Shaykh : Strange.
Al-Halabi : Yes, and of course the father is listening, and the brother, the male groom, is listening, and our brother Abu Ahmad; we are four: the father of the girl, the male groom, and our brother Abu Ahmad. Everyone is listening to you, my professor. So I say, we have spoken a lot, of course, and before that, our brother, the father of the groom, had raised the issues he has and similar things as remarks. And I say now, perhaps I have not said this word before, but even if it can be understood from most of the conversation that took place, I say that these remarks that were made, some of them may be important, and their sum may affect the psyche somewhat. But imagine, and perhaps my brother Abu Ahmad is with me in this view, that these do not necessitate separation, i.e., divorce, from the first week, and there is no marriage or anything similar, but rather the matter may need guidance and direction and the like. So we have been speaking for about two hours, or an hour and a half, and the brother, the father of the groom, was saying, "I want nothing but separation and divorce, and I am determined." And the married brother, or the contracting party, says, "I want the girl until now, and I am ready; the things that were taken upon me, I will try to fix them to the best of my ability." But he is faced with great insistence from the virtuous brother, may Allah reward him with good, the father of the groom, who says, "We want nothing but separation and divorce and this parting."

The Shaykh : I understand from your words that the contract was concluded.
Al-Halabi : Yes, the contract was concluded.

The Shaykh : Good, what is the father of the girl's argument for seeking separation?
Al-Halabi : His argument is incidents, our Shaykh, and the behavior of the brother, the groom, if that expression is permissible, the male groom, and his mother. Some behaviors, like this. I said, I testify before Allah that this collection may affect the psyche. I acknowledge, if that is the case, of course, and we say, if that is the case, we do not accuse the virtuous brother, but we say that sometimes Satan, our Shaykh, may delude and may confuse, especially as I remembered two hadiths now and mentioned them to our brother, may Allah reward him with good. The first hadith is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the second hadith is the hadith of Satan, my professor, when he sets his throne on the sea and puts the crown on the one who separates a man from his wife. And the hadith is well-known, of course. So these two hadiths make us very cautious in many matters. But the brother, may Allah reward him with good, says, "I want nothing but separation." And when his argument was mentioned to us, it is one or two incidents, perhaps four, perhaps five. In total, he has this conviction. But for us who are listening now, we say it is undoubtedly influential in his view, but it cannot, by virtue of the experiences we have lived through in life, reach the degree where he says, "I want divorce." But he said it, and he says, "I am convinced of this, one hundred percent, and the whole house is determined on this thing, and the girl is also so, and so on with these issues." So we requested, our Shaykh, two things. The first thing is a word, perhaps very brief, from you to the two brothers, and they are listening. And the second point, or the second question, and the second thing, will be after this word, if there is no trouble for you, my professor.

The Shaykh : There is no trouble, may Allah bless you. We, as all Muslims know, by the saying of the Lord of the Worlds,
Al-Halabi : Yes.

The Shaykh : It is incumbent upon all of us, men and women, to cooperate in righteousness and piety, and not to cooperate in sin and aggression. I had intended to ask, but then I answered automatically, as they say. I had intended to ask about the girl's position, but the answer was that... from your previous words, it seems that the girl is... with her father in seeking divorce. So I mention the girl, and consequently her father, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) . And we know that the Muslim is commanded, when proposing marriage, to propose to a righteous woman, acting upon and holding fast to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) . And I think that the suitor, whom you praised, did not propose to that girl from her honorable father, as you mentioned, except while he believed that she was the main point, as they say, meaning that she was a woman of religion. And therefore he proceeded to ask for her hand in marriage from her guardian. Then her guardian, when he agreed to marry her to this suitor, also acted upon and held fast to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) . So both the suitor and the guardian of the proposed-to woman were holding fast to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And now, after Allah the Exalted has facilitated things and harmony has been achieved, it is not permissible for her guardian to strive, nor for her to be willing, to seek divorce after that harmony based on the Book and the Sunnah. Otherwise, the father will be sinful like the daughter if there is no valid religious excuse. And you, may Allah bless you, have referred to some matters that occur, and these matters seem very natural, especially in the beginning of marriage and divorce. There must be some difference in customs, traditions, and morals, and so on. And so, at the end of my speech, I advise the honorable father and I also advise the honorable wife to be patient and not to rush to seek and achieve divorce. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) promised that one who seeks divorce without a valid religious excuse will not enter Paradise. This is my word. And naturally, I do not know who the suitor is, who the proposed-to woman is, or who her guardian is. But it is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So both the suitor and the proposed-to woman and her guardian, all of them, are from the general Muslims. So it was obligatory upon me to offer advice after you mentioned to me what you mentioned about the attempt to separate after that harmony based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Therefore, in conclusion, I sincerely hope that the girl's guardian will be patient and think very, very carefully before deciding on the matter. For it is a disliked matter. I do not want to cite as evidence what some people cite, saying that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . I do not want to cite this hadith because it is a weak hadith. But it is not hidden from any Muslim, especially if he is a husband and a father to such a daughter, that divorce is a remedy for a problem that occurs between the spouses after they have... they were unable to live together harmoniously and understand each other. Here, Allah the Exalted legislated divorce. So, divorce without a valid religious cause, especially where there is no cause justified by the Shari'ah, I see that this is not permissible for a Muslim who believes in Allah and His Messenger. And I think that the girl's guardian will live up to my good opinion of him and not strive to separate the spouses. This is all I have. And we ask Allah the Exalted to inspire us all with sincere advice in the religion of Allah and the fear of Allah the Exalted in what He has commanded. This is all I have.