The ruling on a man saying to his wife, "Tughashi" (cover your face)
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Question: From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, the virtuous Shaykh M. 'A. M., may Allah grant him success in all good, amen.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
O Beloved, previously, the brother N. M. wrote to me informing me that he had declared his wife haram (forbidden), then wrote to her a divorce of three, and sought my fatwa regarding this. I answered him with number (2163) and date 7/12/1392 AH, instructing him to appear with her wali (guardian) before your eminence to establish the nature of the incident: whether the divorce was by one word or multiple words, and if by multiple words, what was their nature? Did any divorce precede or follow it? And does she have a desire to return to him if the Shari'ah permits it? Your attached letter has reached me, containing your information that the aforementioned husband appeared before your eminence with the wali of his divorced wife, who is his uncle, and conducted the investigation. With the aforementioned uncle, he stated that he was absent at the time of the divorce, and that his daughter says: "My husband came after work, struck one of her children, she objected to that, and the dispute intensified. He then said: 'Tughashi' (meaning: cover your face), and nothing else occurred." Your eminence mentioned that it appears the woman did not preserve the reality of the event due to her weak intellect, or due to a bad intention, and that she and her father desire the return (raj'ah) if the Shari'ah permits it, as your eminence mentioned. Your eminence also mentioned that the husband informed that he first spoke the word "haram" to calm her anger and did not intend divorce by it, and after a period of approximately one month, he divorced her three times with a single phrase, and he had previously divorced her only once. I have reviewed the attached divorce paper written by 'A. M., dated 28/6/1392 AH, and its text is: "The husband, while in a state considered valid by the Shari'ah, has acknowledged that he divorced his wife with three divorces, and this was on 1/8/1391 AH. He tasked me with writing this paper in his absence, so I have recorded that." End of text.
Answer: Based on all of the above, I issued a fatwa to the aforementioned husband that one divorce has taken effect on the aforementioned wife with his last divorce, which is added to the previous divorce, and she has one divorce remaining. He may take her back (raj'ah) as long as she is in the 'iddah (waiting period). If she has exited the 'iddah, she is not lawful to him except through a new marriage with its conditions considered valid by the Shari'ah. This is because it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), what indicates that a divorce by a single word is considered one divorce. Also, it is not hidden from you that upon him is the kaffarah (expiation) for zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative) due to their mutual intent, and upon him is repentance from his last divorce and from the declaration of haram, because both are not permissible, as your eminence knows that. I hope you will inform them of the aforementioned fatwa. May Allah reward you and thank your effort, and peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
O Beloved, previously, the brother N. M. wrote to me informing me that he had declared his wife haram (forbidden), then wrote to her a divorce of three, and sought my fatwa regarding this. I answered him with number (2163) and date 7/12/1392 AH, instructing him to appear with her wali (guardian) before your eminence to establish the nature of the incident: whether the divorce was by one word or multiple words, and if by multiple words, what was their nature? Did any divorce precede or follow it? And does she have a desire to return to him if the Shari'ah permits it? Your attached letter has reached me, containing your information that the aforementioned husband appeared before your eminence with the wali of his divorced wife, who is his uncle, and conducted the investigation. With the aforementioned uncle, he stated that he was absent at the time of the divorce, and that his daughter says: "My husband came after work, struck one of her children, she objected to that, and the dispute intensified. He then said: 'Tughashi' (meaning: cover your face), and nothing else occurred." Your eminence mentioned that it appears the woman did not preserve the reality of the event due to her weak intellect, or due to a bad intention, and that she and her father desire the return (raj'ah) if the Shari'ah permits it, as your eminence mentioned. Your eminence also mentioned that the husband informed that he first spoke the word "haram" to calm her anger and did not intend divorce by it, and after a period of approximately one month, he divorced her three times with a single phrase, and he had previously divorced her only once. I have reviewed the attached divorce paper written by 'A. M., dated 28/6/1392 AH, and its text is: "The husband, while in a state considered valid by the Shari'ah, has acknowledged that he divorced his wife with three divorces, and this was on 1/8/1391 AH. He tasked me with writing this paper in his absence, so I have recorded that." End of text.
Answer: Based on all of the above, I issued a fatwa to the aforementioned husband that one divorce has taken effect on the aforementioned wife with his last divorce, which is added to the previous divorce, and she has one divorce remaining. He may take her back (raj'ah) as long as she is in the 'iddah (waiting period). If she has exited the 'iddah, she is not lawful to him except through a new marriage with its conditions considered valid by the Shari'ah. This is because it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), what indicates that a divorce by a single word is considered one divorce. Also, it is not hidden from you that upon him is the kaffarah (expiation) for zihar (likening one's wife to a forbidden relative) due to their mutual intent, and upon him is repentance from his last divorce and from the declaration of haram, because both are not permissible, as your eminence knows that. I hope you will inform them of the aforementioned fatwa. May Allah reward you and thank your effort, and peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.