Chapter on Khul'

The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on Khul'":
It is also called al-khal', which is with a fathah, and it is the verbal noun of khala'a yakhla'u khal'an, and with a dammah it means the concept; with a dammah, I mean, the concept.
Al-khul' and al-khal' in their original sense mean dissolving a thing and getting rid of it. From this comes taking off a garment, taking off a sandal, taking off a leather sock, meaning getting rid of it.
This name was borrowed for the separation from the wife. The jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) borrowed it for the separation from the wife. The point of similarity between the original meaning and the new meaning is that the woman is a garment for the man, and the man is a garment for the woman, as Allah the Exalted said: . So the separation between them is like the separation between the body and the garment, and it is considered khul'.
If we had said "Chapter on Separation by Ransom," that would have been more appropriate regarding the expression of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said: . So Allah the Exalted named this separation ransom, because the woman ransoms herself from the husband by offering what she offers to get rid of him, to get rid of the husband. For this reason, we say: khul' or separation by ransom is: "the separation of the wife for a consideration with specific words".
The separation of the wife for a consideration with specific words; this is al-khal' or al-khul' or separation by ransom. And our saying "for a consideration" is general; it does not specify where this consideration comes from. It may be from the wife, it may be from her father or her guardian, or it may be from a stranger who has no relation to her but saw that she was suffering and did her a favor by offering the consideration to her husband so that he would separate from her.
So, from whom does the consideration for khul' come?
From the wife, or her guardian, or a stranger. But it is a condition, if the consideration is from someone other than her and other than her guardian, that the intention behind it be the benefit of the wife, not to harm the husband or the wife, or for self-interest. Be aware, because the stranger who offers the consideration may offer it to harm the wife, or to harm the husband, or for his own benefit. All of this is not permissible. Offering it to harm the wife is obvious: a person comes to a man and says, "Divorce your wife, and here are ten thousand riyals," enticing him with money so that he divorces her, because there is enmity between him and the wife. He wants to free her from the husband. This is forbidden and an encroachment on the right of the wife.
Perhaps he intends to harm the husband. Here you might ask: how can it be harm to the husband when the matter is in the husband's hand?
We say: Yes, because some husbands have a great greed for money. If he is enticed by it, he forgets everything, and then after the event has occurred, he regrets it. For example, a person who loves his wife is told, "Come, I will give you ten thousand to build you a house and get you a car," and he is enticed and enticed until he says, "Okay," and he divorces the wife, and afterwards he regrets it.
For the benefit of the one offering it: a man may be attracted to another man's wife and want her for himself, so he goes to the husband and entices him with money to divorce her, and then this offerer takes her. This is also forbidden. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) considered this matter to be grave and said: "How can this be?!".
He goes to the man and says, "Divorce your wife or divorce her by khul' so that he can marry her."
So, what is the fourth category that remains for us?
That it be for the benefit of the wife, or for the benefit of both of them, the husband and the wife. In that case, the offering of the consideration by the stranger is permissible, and it may even be praiseworthy if he intends to free them from discord and dispute.
A man may know that there is such discord and conflict between these two spouses that it puts them in a state of torment. Yes, so he does them a favor and gives the husband money in order for him to separate from her. We say: this is a man who does good, and may Allah reward him with good.
So, the consideration, my brothers, from whom is the consideration offered?
From the wife, or her guardian, or a stranger. And the stranger, if he offers the consideration, is divided into four categories, thus:
That it be for the benefit, for the benefit of the husband or the wife, or for the benefit of both of them. This is permissible and praiseworthy, and the person is rewarded for it and given reward for it.
The second: that it be to harm the wife, or to harm the husband, or for the benefit of the one offering it. In this case, it is forbidden for him, because it is aggression, harm, and causing harm to others.
The basis for khul' is the saying of Allah the Exalted: :
This is the basis for khul'. You will find this verse between the saying of Allah the Exalted: and His saying: . By its being between the two divorces and the third divorce, it becomes clear that it is not, more correctly, from the divorces. It becomes clear that khul' is not from the divorces, because if it were from the divorces, would the divorce mentioned after it be?
The fourth? And that is not the case. So the divorce mentioned after it is the third. Therefore, it is a separation between two divorces and a third, and in that case, it is not counted as a divorce. And so it is; khul' is not counted as a divorce. So if a man divorces his wife by khul' ten times, he is still within his divorces. If he divorced her by khul' ten times from the first time, how many divorces does he have left?
He has three divorces left. Why?
Because khul' is not a divorce. Its evidence from the Qur'an is what you know, and its evidence from the Sunnah is what will come, if Allah wills.