According to the Quran, marriage is intended to be unbounded in time, as indicated by its characterization as a "firm bond" and by the rules governing divorce. The relationship between the spouses should ideally be based on love (mawadda wa rahma, 30:21) and important decisions concerning both spouses should be made by mutual consent. When marital harmony cannot be attained, the Quran allows and even advises the spouses to bring the marriage to an end (2:231), although this decision is not to be taken lightly, and the community is called upon to intervene by appointing arbiters from the two families to attempt a reconciliation (4:35). The Quran establishes two further means to avoid hasty divorces. It prescribes two waiting periods of three months before the divorce is final in order to give the husband time to reconsider his decision. Moreover, a man who takes an oath not to have sexual intercourse with his wife, which would lead to automatic divorce, is allowed a four-month period to break his oath (2:226).

The Quran substantially reformed the gender inequity of divorce practices that existed in pre-Islamic Arabia, although some patriarchical elements survived and others flourished during later centuries. Before Islam, divorce among the Arabs was governed by unwritten customary law, which varied according to region and tribe, and its observance depended on the authority of the individuals and groups involved. In this system, women were particularly vulnerable. The Quranic rules of marriage and divorce provided a fixed set of norms for all Muslims, backed by divine authority and enforced by the community. The early Islamic reforms included giving the wife a possibility to initiate divorce, abrogation of the husband's claim to his wife's property, condemnation of divorce without compelling reason, criminalizing unfounded claims of infidelity made by the husband, and institution of financial responsibilities of the husband toward his divorced wife. In pre-Islamic times, men kept their wives in a state of "limbo" by continually repudiating them and taking them back at will. The Quran limited the number of repudiations to three, after which the man cannot take his wife back unless she first marries another man. Additionally, the pre-Islamic bridewealth (mahr), which was paid by the groom to the bride's family, was transformed into a dower, which became property of the wife, though some scholars believe that the practice of giving at least a part of the mahr to the bride began shortly before the advent of Islam.

The subject of divorce is addressed in four different surahs of the Quran, including the general principle articulated in 2:231:

If you divorce women, and they reach their appointed term, hold them back in amity or let them go in amity. Do not hold them back out of malice, to be vindictive. Whoso does this does himself injustice".

Legal context

Classical Islamic law is derived from the scriptural sources of Islam (Quran and hadith) using various methodologies developed by different legal schools. It was historically interpreted by jurists (muftis) who were expected to give a legal opinion (fatwa) free of charge in response to any query. Family disputes were handled in sharia courts presided over by a judge (qadi) who had enough legal education to decide some legal questions and queried a mufti if faced with a difficult legal issue. The judges were active members of the local community and were also involved in informal arbitration, which was the preferred method of resolving disputes. In court proceedings, they mediated between the letter of the law and exigences of the local social and moral concerns, with the overarching aim of ensuring social harmony. Actual legal practice sometimes deviated from the precepts of the legal school that was dominant in the area, at times to women's benefit and at times to their disadvantage. Members of all social classes and their witnesses argued their cases in court without professional legal representation, though members of the upper class generally did so through a representative. Women were commonly involved in litigation, usually as plaintiffs, were assertive in arguing their cases, and they were often treated sympathetically by the judge. According to legal doctrine, a woman's testimony in most areas of law carried half the weight of that of a man, though available evidence suggests that practical effects of this rule were limited and the legal standing of women in pre-modern Islam was comparable to or higher than that of their European contemporaries.

Talaq (repudiation)

Jurisprudence

The term talaq is commonly translated as "repudiation" or simply "divorce". In classical Islamic law it refers to the husband's right to dissolve the marriage by simply announcing to his wife that he repudiates her. Classical jurists variously classified pronouncement of talaq as forbidden or reprehensible unless it was motivated by a compelling cause such as impossibility of cohabitation due to irreconcilable conflict, though they did not require the husband to obtain court approval or provide a justification. The jurists imposed certain restrictions on valid repudiation. For example, the declaration must be made in clear terms; the husband must be of sound mind and not coerced. Upon talaq, the wife is entitled to the full payment of mahr if it had not already been paid. The husband is obligated to financially support her until the end of the waiting period or the delivery of her child, if she is pregnant. In addition, she has a right to child support and any past due maintenance, which Islamic law requires to be paid regularly in the course of marriage.

Giving the husband a prerogative of repudiation was based on the assumption that men would have no interest in initiating a divorce without good cause, given the financial obligations it would incur. Additionally, classical jurists were of the opinion that "the female nature is wanting in rationality and self-control". Requiring a justification was seen as being potentially detrimental to the reputation of both spouses, since it may expose family secrets to public scrutiny.

Talaq is considered in Islam to be a reprehensible means of divorce. The initial declaration of talaq is a revocable repudiation (?al?q raj?ah) which does not terminate the marriage. The husband can revoke the repudiation at any time during the waiting period (‘iddah) which lasts three full menstrual cycles. The waiting period is intended to give the couple an opportunity for reconciliation, and also a means to ensure that the wife is not pregnant. Resumption of sexual relations automatically retracts the repudiation. The wife retains all her rights during the waiting period. The divorce becomes final when the waiting period expires. This is called a "minor" divorce (al-baynuna al-sughra) and the couple can remarry. If the husband repudiates his wife for the third time, it triggers a "major" divorce (al-baynuna al-kubra), after which the couple cannot remarry without an intervening consummated marriage to another man. This is known as tahlil or nikah halala. Making the third pronouncement irrevocable prevents the husband from using repeated declarations and revocations of divorce as a means of pressuring his wife into making financial concessions in order to "purchase her freedom". It also acts as a deterrent to rash repudiations.

Practice

Women often entered marriage with substantial capital in the form of mahr and the trousseau provided by their family, which they were not obliged to spend on family expenses, and they frequently loaned money to their husbands. Because of this, and the financial obligations incurred, talaq could be a very costly and in many cases financially ruinous enterprise for the husband. Many repudiated women used the divorce payment to buy their ex-husband's share in the family house. In the historical record talaq appears to have been less common than khul'.

Available evidence from Mamluk Egypt indicates that talaq was not the principal means of divorce. Talaq was considered to be disastrous for the woman because it deprived her of long-term protection and financial support, preventing her from remarrying, since this would cause her to lose child custody. This led to repudiation without good reason being considered socially improper. Studies of the Ottoman Levant showed that women could invalidate a declaration of talaq by stating that the husband had shown signs of "diminished rationality" when he made it, while others used a husband's unrevoked declaration of talaq to obtain divorce at a later date if they could prove that he made it.

Talaq al-bid'ah and triple talaq

Talaq types can be classified into talaq al-sunnah, which is thought to be in accordance with Muhammad's teachings, and talaq al-bid'ah, which are viewed as a bid'ah (innovation) deviations from it. Talaq al-sunnah is further subdivided into talaq al-ahsan, which is the least disapproved form of talaq, and talaq al-hasan. The ahsan talaq involves a single revocable pronouncement of divorce and sexual abstinence during the waiting period. The hasan divorce involves three pronouncements made during the wife's state of ritual purity with menstrual periods intervening between them, and no intercourse having taken place during that time.

In contrast to talaq al-sunnah, talaq al-bid'ah does not observe the waiting period and irrevocably terminates the marriage. It may involve a "triple talaq", i.e., the declaration of talaq repeated three times, or a different formula such as "you are haram for me". Some legal schools held that a triple talaq performed in a single meeting constituted a "major" divorce, while others classified it as a "minor" divorce. Talaq al-bid'ah reflects pre-Islamic divorce customs rather than Quranic principles, and it is considered to be a particularly disapproved, though legally valid form of divorce in traditional Sunni jurisprudence.^[17] According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad denounced the practice of triple talaq, and the second caliph Umar punished husbands who made use of it.^[19]

Shiite jurisprudence does not recognize talaq al-bid'ah.^[20]

Tafwid (delegated talaq)

The husband can delegate the right of repudiation to his wife.^[2] This delegation can be made at the time of drawing up the marriage contract (nikah) or during the marriage, with or without conditions.^[21] Many women included such terms in their marriage contracts. Commonly, the contract gave the wife the right to "repudiate herself" if the husband married a second wife.^[2] Delegated repudiation is called ?al?q al-tafawud or tafwid.^[2][21]

Khul? (mutual divorce)

Jurisprudence

Khul? is a contractual type of divorce that is initiated by the wife. It is justified on the authority of verse 2:228:^[5]

It is not licit for you to take back anything you have given them unless the two of them fear that they cannot conform to the bounds of God, no blame attaches to them both. If the woman gives back that with which she sets herself free. These are the bounds set by God; do not transgress them.

It is further based on a hadith in which Muhammad instructs a man to agree to his wife's wish of divorce if she gives back a garden received from him as part of her mahr. A khul' is concluded when the couple agrees to a divorce in exchange for a monetary compensation paid by the wife, which cannot exceed the value of the mahr she had received, and is generally a smaller sum or involves forfeiting the still unpaid portion.^[5] Hanafis and Malikis do not require a compensation paid by the wife.^[2] The divorce is final and irrevocable, effective when the contract is concluded.^[5] The couple cannot reconcile during the waiting period, defined as in the case of talaq, but the husband is required to pay maintenance during its term, unless the requirement is waived by the contract.^[2] As in the case of talaq, remarriage is possible until a khul' is concluded for a third time. If the husband pressures his wife to agree to k