Halala – How to Abolish It Following Guidance from Quran and Hadith
By Hasan Mahmud, New Age Islam
24 August 2022
When A Woman Is Divorced By Her Husband And He Fails To
Revoke The Divorce Before The Expiry Of The Waiting Period, The Relatives Of
The Woman Should Not Try To Prevent The Couple From Re-Marrying If They Agree
To Do So
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Halala is a process of remarriage of divorced couples set by
the Quran. Related parts of the verses are: -
A divorce is only permissible twice: after that the parties
should either hold together on equitable terms or separate with kindness……… if
a husband divorces his wife (irrevocably) he cannot after that remarry her
until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her” -
2:229 & 230 - Yusuf Ali.
Even if the husband repents and wants to continue the
marriage (which happens often), the divorced wife is forced to marry another
man, consummate the marriage, and get divorce from him to remarry her previous
husband. We don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize the insult and pain
of the wife and the lifelong trauma of the kids in such case. As BBC reports -
“The Women Who Sleep with a
Stranger to Save Their Marriage” -
The contexts and purposes of the verses are recorded in Imam
Wahidi’s (d. 1075 AD.) book "Asbab al-Nuzul", the most authentic
source of contexts and purposes of many Quranic verses. Here is excerpt from
page 23 (scan of the page is at the bottom)-
Traditionally after divorcing a wife, the husband could take
her back before the end of the Iddat, even if he divorces her a thousand
times…… a Sahaba divorced his wife and took her back just before the end of the
Iddat. Immediately after this he divorced her again and said - 'By Allah! I
will not take you back and I will never let you marry anyone else'. Then Allah
revealed verses 2:229 & 230.
Clearly, those verses were revealed to protect wives from
cruel husbands. Instead, countless Muslim women were destroyed by abusing the
verses by Halala. Here is how we can eliminate it: -
“When ye divorce women, and they fulfil the term of their
(‘Iddat), do not prevent them from marrying their (former) husbands, if they
mutually agree on equitable terms” - chapter 2:232, Yusuf Ali.
The context and purpose of 2:232 is recorded in Sahi Bukhari
5429, Sahi Tirmiji 2992, Sunan Abu Dawud 2081 and in page 24 of "Asbab
al-Nuzul"; scan of the page is at the bottom. Excerpt: -
Sahaba Makal bin Yasar married his sister to a man who later
divorced her. After the divorce was complete and she passed the waiting period
(Iddat), they wanted to remarry but angry Makal strongly prevented it. Then
verse 2:232 was revealed permitting their remarriage without Halala and they
were remarried without Halala.
In such case the husband must pay a new Bride-Money (Mehr).
Mawdudi explains: -
“When a woman is divorced by her husband and he fails to
revoke the divorce before the expiry of the waiting period, the relatives of
the woman should not try to prevent the couple from re-marrying if they agree
to do so. This verse may also be interpreted to mean that if a divorced woman
wants to contract marriage with someone other than her former husband after the
expiry of the waiting period, the former husband should not obstruct this
marriage by making malicious propaganda against the woman he has forsaken” –
Tafhimul Quran.
Prophet (S) said: -
"There is nothing like marriage for two who love each
other" – Sunan Ibn Majah, Volume 3 Hadith 1847.
This is the Islamic way we can abolish the brutal practice
of Halala. It is the same Quran and same Prophet (S), it is only a culture
shift of using positive references from them.
If the husband repents and wants to continue the marriage,
why should a home and the lives of people including children be destroyed? Lest
we forget, - “Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and
loves those who purify themselves”- 2:222 which is supported by 42:25. Add
with this - Allah wants our lives to be easy; not difficult- 2:185 &
22:78.
Note: - Quran in 2:229 details the process of divorce by
husbands that gives him months to think and cancel the divorce. But the Sharia
law of Teen-Talaq violates the Quran and deprives the husbands from the right
and scope that Allah gave in 2:229.
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Scans of pages 23 and 24 of “Asbab Al Nuzul” for contexts of verses 2:229, 230 & 232:
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/halala-guidance-quran-hadith/d/127783
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